Mountain runner Kilian Jornet attempted a fastest known time (FKT) speed ascent and descent record on the Argentinian mountain of Aconcagua today as part of his Summits of My Life project, but he was forced to turn back due to strong winds, . The time to beat is 15 hours, 5 minutes.
Jornet, 27, has been in Argentina since December 10, when he arrived in Mendoza to finish a five-city film tour. He has since been training to summit the 22,837-foot Aconcagua and acclimatize to altitude. Jornet summited successfully on December 16 during strong winds and had been waiting for a pocket of better weather to attempt the speed record.
Friends received a message from Jornet this morning announcing the attempt. 鈥淭oday is the day to try!鈥 he wrote. 鈥淲ind is stronger than perfect on the mountain but [it] is a window.鈥 Jornet started out by running up Aconcagua; he planned to ski down after reaching its peak. Three hours later, however, .
鈥淜ilian was not able to reach the summit on his attempt due to strong wind,鈥 Jornet鈥檚 friends wrote on Facebook. 鈥淗e could reach up to 6.500m [21,325 feet] but 90km/h [55 mph*] winds made the attempt completely impossible and he had to turn back. In Kilian鈥檚 words 鈥業 will try again soon.鈥欌
There鈥檚 no word yet on when 鈥渟oon鈥 might be.
Besting Aconcagua would be the second-to-last challenge in Jornet鈥檚 Summits of My Life project, a quest he began in 2012 to complete FKTs at the world鈥檚 Seven Summits. He plans to end the project next year with a run up Everest.
*This article was updated to correct the wind speed Jornet faced during is latest FKT attempt.