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Kilian Jornet Is Speeding Through His Latest Crazy Mountain �����ԹϺ���

The ultrarunning icon is racing through his States of Elevation project: ascending the American 14ers, and traveling to and from them by bike

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Jornet is running up the USA’s 14ers (Photo: Nick Danielson/Nnormal)

Catalan ultrarunner Kilian Jornet is just a little over halfway done with his audacious plan to hike the 67 peaks above 14,000 feet in the contiguous United States, while commuting to and from the mountains by bike and foot.

On September 15, Jornet, 37, reached Colorado’s San Juan mountains, crossing the 1,000-mile mark of his trip, which will encompass approximately 2,400 miles. By then he had climbed 39 of the 67 peaks on his list. Jornet reached the final stretch of Colorado peaks on after methodically ticking off the ten 14ers in the Sangre de Cristo Range.

“I was surprised at how beautiful and wild it was,” Jornet told �����ԹϺ���. “I loved the colors, the textures, the technical parts, the wildlife—it has been magic.”

Called States of Elevation, the human-powered expedition will take Jornet to peaks in Colorado, California, and Washington State. The expedition has received a glut of mainstream media attention in the U.S., including a feature story in and stories in multiple regional publications.

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“Ultimately, I’m hoping to discover the American wilderness and its mountains,” Jornet added.

An Amazing Pace in Punishing Terrain

As of the publishing of this story, Jornet had increased his peak count to 43. He started on September 3 at the Longs Peak Trailhead in northern Colorado. In the 13 days it took him to surpass 1,000 miles, he was in near-perpetual motion, amassing 200 hours of activity and a mind-boggling 200,000 feet of vertical gain, according to his . He said that traversing mountainous terrain by foot and bicycle—and not by car or bus—may hold special appeal for many Americans right now.

“It’s a different pace,” he said. “Going on foot and bike allows you to better see and understand these places and their surroundings, and I feel this matches those wider conversations happening in the U.S.”

The San Juans, which encompass the final 14 of Colorado’s 58 14ers, are his last range in the state before biking to California and starting on 14,505-foot Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48. California has 11 more 14ers after that, followed by two in Washington. Jornet is on track to complete States of Elevation in one month or less.

It’s the latest superhuman feat for Jornet, who has already completed a long list of mind-boggling adventures and feats in running, skiing, and mountaineering. In 2017, he ran to the summit of Mount Everest without using supplemental oxygen twice.

Jornet said the idea to link the American 14ers via human power came to him in 2023, when an early-season injury prevented him from competing in the ultramarathon circuit. That year, he missed many of the biggest races while healing, and instead focused on linking up high peaks in different ranges. “I thought I might try to do something connecting ridges in a coherent and aesthetic way,” Jornet said.

In 2023, he ran and hiked the length of the Pyrenees, his home mountain range, summiting 177 peaks above 3,000 meters (9,942 feet) over the course of eight days.

In 2024, Jornet tried the same human-powered approach in the Alps. He ascended 82 peaks higher than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in 19 days, covering 750 miles and 75,000 vertical feet.

“I was surprised I could do it on 4,000-meter peaks,” he said.

He said that the American 14ers felt like the next step in the project. “They’ve always been attractive to me,” said Jornet. “I thought it could be interesting to give it a try and discover them.”

Staying Safe on U.S. Roadways

But Jornet faces dangers in the United States that are far greater than those in Europe—specifically, the hazards that cyclists face on the road with cars and trucks. The Alps and Pyrenees are crisscrossed by designated bikeways, and also by mountain roads where bicycle traffic is an everyday occurrence.

Linking peaks in the United States will require Jornet to bike on two-lane highways, backroads with truck traffic, and other byways that may not be safe for cyclists. Jornet told �����ԹϺ��� that he’s taking his safety on the roads “very seriously.”

“I try to find alternatives by riding on gravel roads when there are roads with a lot of traffic,” he said. “I also ride in daylight as much as possible, and use a high-visibility kit and strong front/rear lights.”

While Jornet has rough parameters on how quickly he’d like to complete certain sections of the journey, he said speed isn’t his main concern. He wants to run, hike, and bike routes that he deems to be “aesthetic,” and those aren’t necessarily the fastest ones.

He’s also enjoying the company of other elite athletes and has invited experts to accompany him on certain segments. Simi Hamilton, who holds the male unsupported FKT on Colorado’s Elk Traverse—the linkup of seven 14ers of the Elk Range—joined Jornet for that segment. U.S. marathon great Ryan Hall also joined Jornet in the Elk Range.

“I hope to learn what they have to teach me, and also what challenges these mountain ecosystems are facing,” Jornet said.

He’s also hoping to learn new things about himself as an athlete by testing some of his personal parameters over the course of a month-long endurance epic. “I’m interested in whether I can keep my decision-making clean when fatigue stacks up,” Jornet said, “whether I can continue to exercise good judgment day after day.” He’s working with the hypothesis that maintaining small, consistent habits around fueling, foot care, and sleep will add up to something big that will effectively combat the long, hard effort.

Jornet told �����ԹϺ��� that he isn’t sure if connecting mountain tops by human-powered means will catch on with everyday endurance athletes. But for him, the challenge has given him a boost of motivation to push himself.

“Exploring the mountains is something humans have always done,” Jornet said. “The good thing about doing it this way is that the barrier to entry is lower; go to the mountains that are closest to you and connect the dots with your own legs.”