Spanish mountain runner and endurance athlete Kilian Jornet and his team have abandoned a speed record attempt on Everest's North face due to poor weather conditions. Kilian's goal was to climb the world's highest mountain as the culmination of his Summits of my Life project, in which he is attempting to set ascent and descent records for some of the world's most iconic mountains.
Reporting the news via a voice recording on his Facebook page, Kilian commented:
'There's a little bit of frustration because we are in good shape and well acclimatised, but the weather and the conditions are very dangerous. We've learnt a lot about the mountain and how to come back in the future.'
Conditions had reportedly been ideal at the beginning of the trip, but the team - composed of alpinists Jordi Tosas and Jordi Corominas, and cameramen and mountain guides Sébastien Montaz-Rosset and Vivian Bruchez - were not yet acclimatised. Three weeks into the expedition, the decision was made not to attempt the mountain due to the increased snowfall and avalanche risk.
Kilian has so far completed five of the seven mountains on his list - the Innominata ridge traverse of Mont Blanc from Courmayeur to Chamonix in 2012 (UKC News Report), Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn in 2013 and Mount McKinley (UKC News Report) and Aconcagua (UKC News Report) in 2014. Only Mount Elbrus and Everest remain.
Kilian's Summits of My Life records:
- Innominata Ridge, Mont Blanc - 8 hours 43 minutes (Courmayeur - Chamonix)
- Mont Blanc - 4 hours 57 minutes
- Matterhorn - 2 hours 52 minutes
- Mount McKinley - 11 hours 40 minutes
- Aconcagua - 12 hours 49 minutes
Watch some footage of Kilian on the Matterhorn below:
Visit Kilian's Summits of My Life blog.
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