Pushing himself to the limits of human endurance is something that apparently comes as natural to Kilian Jornet as using the TV remote does to the rest of us.
And he’s at it again. The Spanish mountaineer and multiple Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) champion, with countless Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for mountain ascents and descents (including the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc) and who already summited all 177 peaks over 3,000m in the Pyrenees in just eight days last year, is currently in the opening stages of his biggest challenge yet.
In partnership with outdoors gear brand Normal, Jornet is currently in the opening stages of what’s being called 'Alpine Connections' – a trek across the European mountain range via a route that takes in all 82 of its 4,000m+ peaks, and doing it by human-powered means alone - that's hiking, skiing, and cycling.
Jornet started this epic trek in the Bernina range in eastern Switzerland on August 13.
You can keep up with his latest adventure via regular 'episodes' posted on Normal’s Instagram feed; we’ve embedded all the episodes so far here. There are also loads of other pics and short clips on there too.
Plus Jornet is posting his own updates on his personal Instagram feed which are appearing a little more rapidly – he’s up to “Stage 6: Valais 2” already and reckons that he’s now up to 532km, 23 peaks and 32,857m of elevation gain.
You can get even more detail stats about each stage via Jornet’s Strava feed (if you’re signed up to Strava).
On their webpage devoted to “Alpine Connections” Normal say the project will, “explore his physical, technical, and mental limits.” You’re not kidding, though photos on site prove that they’re taking a very scientific approach to monitoring him
But let’s face it, Jornet’s mainly doing it just because he wants to. Any scientific benefits are just a bonus.
There is a actually a standing speed record for climbing all the Alps’ 4,000m+ peaks, which is 62 days, set by the Swiss climber Ueli Steck in 2016, but neither Normal nor Jornet seem to have mentioned anything about aiming to break that record.
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