Forgoing oxygen aid and fixed ropes, Spanish ultramarathoner Kilian Jornet summited Mount Everest early Monday, around midnight. His roughly 12,400-foot ascent from Everest Base Camp (elevation 17,600 feet) took just 26 hours. Most hikers—supported with additional oxygen and ropes—take up to four days to cover the same distance.
The 29-year-old intended to achieve the fastest known time for both the ascent and descent from Base Camp but was forced to stop on the way down at the Advanced Base Camp (elevation 20,800 feet) due to a stomach virus. He was on the trail for 36 hours.
Jornet is claiming the FKT for summiting the mountain up the north face in a post on his website, although records of this type are not officially sanctioned and difficult to track.
“Up to 7,700 meters (22,965 feet) I felt really good and was making progress as planned but then I started to feel unwell,” Jornet said in the post. “From then on I made slow progress and had to keep stopping to recover. I finally reached the summit at midnight.”
Jornet is one of the best ultra-distance and mountain runners in the world, with winning performances at some of the toughest races, including the Western States Endurance Run, Hardrock 100, and Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. His latest ascent on Everest was part of a four-year challenge called “Summits of My Life,” in which he aimed to set the ascent and descent speed records on several of the most famous or harrowing mountains in the world.
Since 2012, he’s achieved FKTs on mountains including Matterhorn, McKinley, and Aconcagua.
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The Everest expedition was his last in the project. He initially planned to attempt it in 2016, but poor weather forced him to reschedule. Because he was forced to stop before reaching base camp Monday, he did not achieve the FKT for the ascent and descent. He has yet to announce if he will go after the time in the future.
Jornet’s feat happened during a tragic time on Everest: Four climbers have died over the past several days. Among those killed was Roland Yearwood, 50, a doctor from Georgiana, Alabama.
Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years. His work has taken him across the country, from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to cover the 2016 Olympic Trials to the top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine to cover Scott Jurek’s record-breaking Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2015.
