Trail running superstar Kilian Jornet has begun his latest crazy adventure - climbing 67 of America's tallest mountains, and hiking and cycling between them.
Jornet began his States of Altitude Project last week on Longs Peak in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, and is aiming to summit every mountain over 14,000ft (4,267m) in the US, aside from those in Alaska and Hawaii, as fast as he can.
Following his initial summit, Jornet continued to the South Arapaho Peak on the Continental Divide and went down to set off on a 49-mile (79km) cycle ride south to the Echo Lake campground. Six hours of sleep later, he was back in the mountains, working his way through Colorado's Mosquito mountain range.
"Kilian barely slept following the LA Freeway epic, and he woke up feeling every one of those 16 hours as well as the Colorado altitude in his body," explains a post on his Instagram account.
"The morning brought Mt. Blue Sky (formerly Evans) and Bierstadt, but Colorado’s afternoon storms had other plans. A weather system rolled in, forcing route changes that added 4 hours to the day," it continued.
"In just over 41 hours of movement & 160 miles (259km) on foot and by bike, Kilian has now summited 6 Colorado 14ers."
At the time of writing, Kilian remains in Colorado as he attempts to tick off each of the 58 peaks above 14,000 feet (4,267m) that the state has to offer.
Jornet, who's previously set records on the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, and scaled Everest without supplemental oxygen, announced his latest adventure in August, and says there are two main reasons for doing it now.
"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," he said before setting off.
"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."
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