Kilian Jornet might not have taken home the gold buckle at this year's Western States, but his third-place finish meant he still managed to shave more than an hour and 15 minutes off his last win on the course. The experience seems to have ignited something else in the Spanish ultra runner: a desire to explore the American West.
Jornet announced today that his next project is to link up every 14er – that's a mountain over 14,000ft – in the lower 48 states by foot and bike. The project, titled States of Elevation, will take the 37-year-old across 67 summits in Colorado, California and Washington, and includes such famous mountains as Mount Whitney and Mount Rainier.
Jornet plans to set off in early September, which is towards the end of 14er season for mere mortals, but we've previously seen the mountaineer summit all 177 peaks over 3,000m in the Pyrenees in just eight days in 2023 and climb all 82 4,000m Alpine peaks in just 19 days in 2024, so we know he's not afraid of moving fast. Nor is he a stranger to a pair of crampons, which is a good thing because those NNormal Kjerags probably aren't going to cut it when he hits the snowline.
Jornet plans to start his expedition on Longs Peak in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park and though he hasn't stated a timeframe for the attempt, his team says he'll be moving the equivalent of a Tour de France stage (that can be as much as 155 miles / 250k) and a marathon each day to beat winter in the high country.
Jornet, who's also set records on the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc and scaled Everest without supplemental oxygen, says there are two reasons he chose this as his next project.
"What I experienced in the Pyrenees and the Alps motivated me to keep exploring this dimension of long traverses with a strong physical, cognitive, and creative component," says Jornet.
"It’s also about exploring the American West – the vastness of the terrain and the cultures that have lived and continue to live there, as well as a nature that is often wild and incredibly diverse, ranging from alpine areas to dense forests and deserts."
Once again, Jornet plans to share real-time updates across social media and via the NNormal blog.
