Kilian Jornet Launches Speed Record Bid on Aconcagua

Last week we reported that Kilian Jornet was preparing for a speed record attempt on Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America at 6962 meters (22,841 ft). At the time, Kilian had just wrapped up  his speaking tour in Argentina, and was departing for Base Camp on the mountain. Over the past few days, he has been acclimatizing and scouting the route, but now it seems he is ready to go at last.

According to a post on his Facebook page, Kilian has set off this morning for his push towards the summit. The post reads:

"Hey guys! Today is the day to try! Wind is stronger than perfect on the mountain but is a window. I will start in 5 minutes. See you soon!"

The time that the mountain runner is trying to beat is 15 hours, 5 minutes from Base Camp to the summit, and back. That unofficial record is held by Jorge Egocheaga and was set back in 2011. That record is widely seen as the fastest time, despite the fact that Jorge did not have an official timekeeper on site.

According to this report, Kilian has been training very well on Aconcagua and even managed to reach the summit in just 4 hours earlier this week. If that is true, he'll be more than poised to smash the record, as he has done on there mountains in the past, including Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, and Denali. If all goes well on this latest adventure, he also hopes to go after the speed record on Everest in the spring.

It is likely that it will be late tonight before we get any official word on Kilian's efforts. Hopefully he travel quickly and safely, and makes it up and down without injury. I'll post an update when we know more about this attempt, but history could be unfolding at this very moment. Watch Kilian's Facebook page for the latest updates.