Kilian Jornet Sets New Speed Record on Aconcagua!

Photo Courtesy of Summits of My Life

If you follow my Twitter feed, this is probably old news to you by now, but I definitely wanted to share it here on the Adventure Blog as well. Yesterday, Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet set a new speed record on Aconcagua, smashing the previous time for the fastest ascent and return to Base Camp by more than two hours.

Setting out from the Horcones entrance to the Aconcagua National Park, Kilian ran to the summit of the mountain, located at 6962 meters (22,841 ft), and back again in the unbelievable time of just 12 hours and 49 minutes. He ran along the "normal" route to the top, covering some 59.85 km (37.1 miles), while gaining 3962 meters (12,998 ft) along the way. To put this in perspective, most climbing expeditions spend roughly 8-10 days on this same route, acclimatizing as they go. In Kilian's case, he acclimatized prior to the speed record attempt, and even went to the summit last week.

The previous record for the fastest time on Aconcagua was held by Jorge Egocheaga, how ran the same route a few years back, covering the distance in 15 hours, 5 minutes. Kilian bested that mark by 2 hours, 16 minutes in yet another demonstration of his incredible strength and endurance in the mountains. This was his second attempt at the record in less than a week. Last Friday, he set off along the same route, but turned back at 6500 meters (21,325 ft) due to very high winds.

This was the latest challenge in Jornet's Summits of My Life project. Previously, he has set speed records on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Denali as well. Next up, he intends to head to Everest in the spring to see if he can set yet one more speed record on the biggest hill of them all.

Congratulations to Kilian on yet another amazing accomplishment. His efforts in the mountains continue to astound and amaze me. I am already looking forward to seeing what he can do in the Himalaya this coming spring.

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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.

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Kilian Jornet in Argentina to Attempt Speed Record of Aconcagua

Endurance athlete and mountain runner Kilian Jornet is currently in Argentina, where he just wrapped up the final leg of his Mountains of My Life Tour by sharing the film, and his thoughts on climbing and running, with an audience in Mendoza. But it is no coincidence that he wrapped up the tour in the South American country, as he is now preparing for his next big challenge – setting a speed record on Aconcagua, the tallest mountain on the continent.

After finishing up his speaking commitments, the Spaniard will now head to the mountain. At 6960 meters (22,837 ft) in height, Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya. It can be a formidable challenge for climbers, not so much because of its technical difficulties, but more so do to the altitude. The "normal" route approaches the summit from the north, and typically doesn't require the use of ropes, ice axes, or other climbing gear. Supplemental oxygen is not usually required either.

Kilian will take his usual approach to climbing the mountain. First, he'll spend some time on Aconcagua getting acclimated, while also training for the conditions there. Once he feels he has sufficiently prepared, he'll look for a window of good weather before setting off for the summit. The speed attempt will be a minimalist affair, with the endurance runner carrying only the gear that he absolutely needs.

The official speed record for Aconcagua is recognized a 15 hours, 42 minutes, which was set by Carlos Sa. In 2007, that record was broken by Jorge Egocheaga, who completed the climb and descent in just 15 hours, 5 minutes. Unfortunately, he didn't take the proper steps to make his record official, so it is not recognized by everyone. Kilian does recognize Egocheaga's record however, and will be trying to break it when he finally launches his attempt on the mountain.

This will be the second to last climb on the Summits of My Life project. If all goes according to plan, Kilian plans to go to Everest in the spring to attempt a speed record there as well. That mountain will present some new, and interesting, challenges for him, but as perhaps the best long-distance endurance runner on the planet, I think he'll be up to that challenge.

I'll post updates on Kilian's Aconcagua attempt over the next few weeks, and of course I'l'l be following his progress on Everest in the spring as well.

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Video: A 4K Timelapse Adventure Through Argentina

If you haven't had your daily escape to foreign lands just yet, than this video will be a welcome respite from the grind. It is a wonderful timelapse journey through Argentina, with some amazing shots of that country's breathtaking landscapes. It is just under three-minutes in length, but still manages to pack in plenty of lovely imagery to keep you inspired to travel to Argentina yourself, and go seeking your own adventures there.

Argentina - A 4K Timelapse Adventure from Justin Majeczky on Vimeo.

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Video: The Beautiful Ride - A Motorcycle Journey Through South America

When filmmaker Jason Spafford decided to ride his motorcycle across South America, passing through Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia in the process, he brought his GoPro camera and a DJI Phantom drone along to capture some of the fun. The result is this beautiful short film that provides us with an amazing glimpse of the wild landscapes that he encountered along the way. Simply beautiful.

SOUTH AMERICA - THE BEAUTIFUL RIDE from jason Spafford on Vimeo.

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Avalanches Claim The Lives of Adventurers in South America

There was more sad news from the mountains yesterday, when it was revealed that freeskiers JP Auclair and Andreas Fransson were killed in an avalanche in Chile, while climber Liz Daley was caught in a separate avalanche on the Fitz Roy Massif in Argentina, and lost her life too.

Auclair and Fransson were skiing Mount San Lorenzo, a 12,159-foot (3706 meter) peak that falls along the border of Chile and Argentina in the Patagonia region, on Monday when they were caught up in the avalanche that claimed their lives. The two men, both well known in the freeskiing community, were there to make a ski film of their adventure. Outside reports that their deaths were confirmed yesterday when a helicopter flew over the mountain searching for them, but spotted their bodies high on the mountain instead.

Not long after the news of the passing of Auclair and Fransson, reports of Daley's accident surfaced as well. She was a professional climber and snowboarder sponsored by Eddie Bauer, who was in Argentina as part of a production crew shooting a snowboarding/skiing film as well. Liz was part of a team descending from Cerro Vespignani, a 7000-foot (2133 meter) peak that is found near Fitz Roy. The avalanche struck the team, but all other members of the group survived with minor injuries.

It has been a rough week in the mountains to say the least. The news of these deaths due to avalanche follows the loss of Sebastian Haag and Andrea Zambaldi on Shishapangma last week. These three separate incidences are a good reminder of just how dangerous our outdoor pursuits can be at times. It is sad to see so many talented and young adventurers lose their lives in such a short period of time.

My condolences go out to the friends and family of those who were killed in these tragic accidents.

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Introducing the Esmerelda Expedition - Across South America Without Motorized Transport

Explorers Web posted an interesting interview today with Francesco Magistrali, an Italian adventurer who is in the midst of a journey across South America using only non-motorized transportation. The adventure, which he calls the Esmeralda Expedition, began in Ushuaia, Argentina, and continued to Torres Del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks in Patagonia, before heading on to Valdivia and Santiago, Chile. That leg of the journey was completed on a mountain bike, but Magistrali will also be traveling on foot, and kayak throughout his journey as well. Next he'll head to the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, and then on to the Sala de Uyuni Salt Desert in Bolivia. From there, he'll proceed to Yungas, a dense forest along the Andes Mountains, before ultimately wrapping things up by paddling the Madeira and Amazon Rivers to the Atlantic Ocean.

In the interview with ExWeb, Francesco says that the goal of his expedition is to get to know the locals where he is traveling, and experience the unique environment in which they all live. He also undertook the journey in order to challenge himself, and to push his own limits, of what he can accomplish under his own power. He also talks about how he prepared himself mentally and physically for the travel, and the benefits of going solo versus having someone with him.

It took Magistrali about four months to mountain bike from Ushuaia to Santiago, where he has been spending some time visiting with friends and family before returning to the road. He says that the first leg of the journey has been an easy one, with paved roads and good weather helping to make positive progress. Francesco says that was all just a warm-up for the challenges that will come next, as the expedition will get much harder from here. He expects to reach the Atacama in October, before heading out into more wild, and challenging, areas from there.

In all, the expedition is expected to take roughly ten months to complete, covering approximately 10,000 km (6213 miles). You can follow along with Francesco's progress on his website and Facebook page. It looks like it'll be quite a journey when it is all said, and done.

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