Forums >General Running>Skyrunning
Article in New York Times today, Racing to Reach the Sky. I sort of loosely follow some of this stuff. I find it fascinating more than anything else I guess. I did not know that Kilian Jornet is planning on doing Everest next year. In 24-48 hours. Holy crap.
From the article:
Next year, Jornet will attempt the speed record on Mount Everest. He will climb from Tibet, tackling the mountain’s north face. He will do it alone, in one push, and without the help of oxygen or fixed ropes. He will carry little more than an ice ax, a 30-meter rope, food, a jacket, and crampons. Whereas it takes most amateur climbers more than a month to climb the world’s tallest mountain, Jornet estimates it will take him between 24 and 48 hours.
For many, skyrunning sounds hellish; but for Jornet and others like him, there is beauty in motion.
“To keep always moving is a really beautiful feeling, I think.”
an amazing likeness
I'm planning to get really fast and make a running leap for the ISS in the next year or two...
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
You can do it milktruck. Keep on trucking and drinking that milk.
Am I the only one that read ISIS? Upon further review, I realized your target was actually outer freakin space. How Beamonesque, MilkTruck. Kilian's FKT quest is pretty awesome to follow.
A little precocious on the marketing there, milktruck.
Kalsarikännit
Kilian's FKT quest is pretty awesome to follow.
And tragic. Jornet's running partner was killed when a cornice collapsed while on a Mont Blanc traverse.
I'm interested in seeing how he is going to get up Everest. It is traditional to go up to various camps and back down to base camp in order to acclimate. If he is going to just charge up the mountain, unacclimated and not even carrying oxygen in case of an emergency, I'd be really worried. You don't acclimate to feel good or do well at those heights. You acclimate to not die.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Yeah, I remember that tragedy. The "without oxygen" part is pretty scary. I believe he recently had to bail on another exploit due to altitude complications though I can't remember specifics.
That was sort of my gut reaction, isn't there a good amount of risk here? Like he's really pushing it too far? Like really risking his life? But then again I don't know how it compares to all of the other mountains he's climbed and how the altitude compares to where he lives, etc. I know it's high but I'm not a mountaineer. I really hope this goes well for him.
It's Everest and not totally comparable to the other stuff he does.
This is all pretty cool, I suppose, but at some point it just seems kind of, I dunno, goofy. More power to him and all that.
The whole skyrunning scene is supremely scary to me. They are developing new races like one in Tromso. I hope they market these juuuust the right way so they don't accidentally attract the more casual crowd who is not exactly aware of what this stuff actually IS. It's one thing when my road buddies wind up on the gnarlier trails here in PNW. It's another thing when a 'regular' runner somehow winds up at Hardrock. And another thing altogether when it comes to this stuff. Somebody is gonna die.
"light and fast" isn't what people were thinking of when this style of climbing came about. It's a great way to yourself killed, climbing something of this magnitude with just a little bit of gear. Now, i'm sure he will have everything dialed by then, taking Diamox, and shit like that. Everyone does things for different reason, good for him.
Here's an article on his Denali record.
http://adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/01/kilian-jornet-on-setting-a-new-speed-record-on-denali/
Note the amt of gear. Yea, he depends on not having problems he can't handle.
But also note the amount of time he spends before the attempt, and the amt of time afterwards - just enjoying the mountain. I think most people are happy to be finished when they finish - and have usually allowed 3 wks for the climb, including time for weather.
An example where he and EMilie Forsberg had to be rescued:
http://www.chamonix.net/english/news/PGHM-Chamonix-Rescue-Kilian-Jornet
I'm pretty sure he was in Nepal when the earthquake hit - checking routes for next year's Everest attempt. Some said he might try it this year.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32581236
I see that the highest village around Chamonix is slightly less than 5000 feet. He sped up Denali which is 20,237. Everest is 29,029. It is unreal.
I can only think of my own experiences with altitude. In Nepal I went over a couple of 17,000+ foot passes and then climbed/hiked/slowly shuffled up a peak of approx 18,500 feet. It was an incredibly different experience from the 14ers that I have done in the states (where I am significantly less acclimated than I was in Nepal). Eating was something I forced myself to do (not enough, and gagging while putting food in my mouth), sleep is tough, and the brain isn't sharp. I cannot fathom being 10,000 feet higher. I really cannot begin to imagine how it feels. (Do we have anyone here that has been up really high? It would be interesting to hear from them.)
Mental confusion is completely normal on the 8000 meter peaks. He is going to be by himself. There is a part of this that I really don't like. I also have spent a lifetime fascinated by this mountain and the people who have climbed it. So many people have pushed the limits of what we believe to be possible. Logically, I guess this isn't any different. I hope he is safe.
taking Diamox,
I took Viagra (but had Diamox on me, just in case).
I see that the highest village around Chamonix is slightly less than 5000 feet. He sped up Denali which is 20,237. Everest is 29,029. It is unreal. I can only think of my own experiences with altitude. In Nepal I went over a couple of 17,000+ foot passes and then climbed/hiked/slowly shuffled up a peak of approx 18,500 feet. It was an incredibly different experience from the 14ers that I have done in the states (where I am significantly less acclimated than I was in Nepal). Eating was something I forced myself to do (not enough, and gagging while putting food in my mouth), sleep is tough, and the brain isn't sharp. I cannot fathom being 10,000 feet higher. I really cannot begin to imagine how it feels. (Do we have anyone here that has been up really high? It would be interesting to hear from them.) Mental confusion is completely normal on the 8000 meter peaks. He is going to be by himself. There is a part of this that I really don't like. I also have spent a lifetime fascinated by this mountain and the people who have climbed it. So many people have pushed the limits of what we believe to be possible. Logically, I guess this isn't any different. I hope he is safe.
Okay, yeah, that is quite the difference (from where he lives). I have never had the desire to climb Everest but have seen it from the Mount Everest Base camp in Tibet. The weird thing was that it didn't look as grand as I expected for the obvious reason that we were already pretty high up at 16900 ft. The group I was with stayed the night in those huts there and I was seriously concerned about hypothermia and losing of fingers and toes even then, let alone the actual altitude. And that trip was purely a tour without any hiking. The highest I've been hiking is 14000-15000 and it was exactly as you described, shuffling slowly. This guy has got a lot of natural talent but somehow I don't think that can get you past all of the things you guys are describing. I am sure he is doing his research and knows what he is getting into, including the possibility of death, maybe a risk he is willing to take.
2/3rds training
Yes, climbing mountains is hard and dangerous for all who venture into it. Yes, his partner died, but not because he was moving light and fast, because he was climbing at the wrong place and wrong time on a mountain. There really is no one in better shape for moving quickly at altitude than Kilian right now. Whether he may overstep himself with this exploit remains to be seen, but that is really a question for anyone attempting to summit mountains. He does seem to take advantage of the high altitude hut system in the Alps to get overnight and multi day epics in both summer and winter. He doesn't seem to be in a big hurry about it either.
My not-entirely-running-related 'Gram