56LAST LAPAfter reaching the summit of Mount
Everest, what’s the first thing you do?
How do you savor the moment?
You are not fully aware of what it means. I just
stayed there for a short while trying to recover a
bit from the climb and being focused as I knew
I had to go down. Besides, it was very dark, so I
couldn’t really see anything. I took a few pictures
and videos but that’s it. I think it’s not until you’re
down in camp that you realize what you did.The second ascent wasn’t planned. How
quick was the turnaround and what sort
of mental preparation was needed to
make the second climb?
When I was climbing the first time, I had a
stomachache. I had to go very slowly. It was there
when I decided I wanted to try again if I had good
weather, just to test myself and see how I would
do it without being sick, as I felt good in altitude.From Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn to
Denali, each mountain surely presents its
own challenges. Is there one that stands
out to you in terms of difficulty?
Every mountain has its own thing. It might
be the altitude, the technical sections
or even the weather. And sometimes all
at once, so it’s difficult to choose.What was your preparation like in the
days leading up to Everest?
For me what was more challenging was the
acclimatizing to altitude. I trained with a
hyperbaric chamber a few weeks before departing
to the Himalayas, and then I headed to the Alps
to spend some time in altitude. I was in another
8,000 meters, Cho Oyu, with my girlfriend,
Emelie, so when I arrived to Everest I felt verygood. This was my main goal for the expedition
and I’m very pleased with the result. When I was
in the base camp of Everest, my daily routine
was one day of activity, one day resting, and I
think this is how I got ready. Try to rest a lot
and eat well the days before the challenge, even
though it gave me a stomachache at the end.Obviously there is a high degree of
physical stress that goes with these
types of ascents. But what about the
mental stress?
I’ve trained a lot in this aspect for a while now. I’ve
been competing for 15 years and have been going
to the mountains since I was a kid, so the mental
part has been key in my preparation. These
past few years, what I’m trying to do is
train for stressful moments where you
need to make decisions quickly. By
pushing myself to the limit—but
in a controlled environment—it
has allowed me to learn to
master my mind, so when in
complicated situations I can
take the good decisions.With FKTs becoming more
of a trend, do you feel like
they enhance the sport? Or
does it put more emphasis on
the competition and less on
the experience?
For me speed records are to be broken,
and it’s exciting to see how people are
trying to improve and try to beat these
records. I also think though that you
need to do this for fun, to get better and to
overcome your limits. When it stops being
fun or challenging, I think it’s not worth it.PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
Kilian Jornet, 29, Andalsnes, Norway
AS TOLD TO KEVIN GEMMELLIt’s been a busy couple of months for one of the world’s premier ultrarunners. In
May, Kilian Jornet reached the summit of Mount Everest without additional oxygen
or fixed ropes. Unsatisfied with his performance the first time around because of a
stomach bug, he did it again within a week. Two weeks later, it was the Spaniard’s
first half marathon in his adopted home of Norway, followed by a victory at the end
of June at the Mont Blanc Marathon in Chamonix, France. He recently took some
time to swap emails about his double Everest ascent, how he prepares for a race and
his thoughts on the growing trail running trend of Fastest Known Times (FKTs).“By pushing
myself to the
limit...it has
allowed me to
learn to master
my mind.”
—Kilian Jornet, who summited
Mount Everest twice in one weekClick
here for how
Kilian Jornet won
Hardrock 100 with
a dislocated
shoulder.phOTO: J
OrDI
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