Alright, let’s talk about Kilian Jornet—yeah, that Kilian Jornet, the guy who makes scaling mountains sound like a casual jog. In his relentless quest to find his physical limits, Kilian’s latest adventure in the Alps is nothing short of mind-blowing.
This time, Kilian's pushing the envelope again with an epic challenge. How does he do it? Well, it involves insane physical endurance and a ‘nutrition strategy’ that basically means... eating non-stop for an hour and a half at a time. Yes, you heard that right! Our man Kilian is literally chowing down like a beast to keep himself prepped.
In the partial tests to which we have had access; after 852.98 kilometers, climbing 59 peaks over 4,000 meters high, 196 hours and 43 minutes of effort, and gaining 56,237 meters of elevation, guess what? The guy hasn’t lost a single gram. He’s a machine!
But of course, Kilian never stops. His latest obsession? Tackling all 82 of the Alps’ 4,000-meter peaks. And guess what? It only took 19 days, can you believe it? He has crush the previous record set back in 2008—when two Italian mountaineers took 60 days to complete the same mission. Franz Nicolini and Diego Giovannini (60 days in 2008), Ueli Steck (62 days in 2015).
So far, Kilian’s journey has been a whirlwind of non-stop action, with a team of 12 pros behind him, making sure he’s got everything dialed in. A support team of 2 people followed him in a van to provide him with supplies at some points along the route and to transport equipment. A crew watching him inhale food? Check. And yep, you bet he's eating like there’s no tomorrow. His team can’t even believe the sheer amount of food he packs away during these breaks!"
And when he’s not eating... he’s sleeping. Because when you’re Kilian Jornet, that’s how you prep for another killer stage. Oh, and did I mention? On those brutal stages, he’s burning through a casual 6,000 calories!"
Now, his doc, Jesús Álvarez, isn’t too fussed about counting calories. Nope, it's all about balancing Kilian’s body with the right nutrients, keeping his energy up and making sure his gut can handle the insane conditions he’s putting it through. It’s not about ‘fueling the engine,’ as he says—it's about tuning the whole machine."
And yeah, Kilian’s seen some wild stuff. Last year, he hit 177 peaks in the Pyrenees in 8 days and lost 7 kilos in the process. But this time? Different story. He’s cool, calm, and collected. Less obsessed with the stopwatch, more in sync with the mountains."
Of course, the Alps in August? They’re not messing around. The terrain’s unpredictable—cracks, loose rocks, and weather that changes by the minute. Kilian’s had to constantly adapt, altering his plans on the fly, and stressing out his team along the way."
But hey, that’s what Kilian does best. He adapts, he pushes through, and he leaves us all in awe. This is Kilian Jornet—always reaching for more, never backing down."
Think you could keep up? Yeah... us neither.
