Kilian Jornet and the 82 summits of the Alps: Analysis of an exploit through the eyes of Martial Carbonnaux

As summer was coming to an end, Kilian Jornet achieved a new feat at the end of August: climbing the 82 Alpine peaks over 4000m in 19 days, shattering the previous record. After his achievement, we asked Martial Carbonnaux, a member of the Lagoped Family, to comment on the new record of the Spanish trail runner through his perspective as a passionate amateur mountaineer who is also completing the 82 Alpine peaks over 4000m at his own pace. 

Kilian Jornet surely needs no introduction, given his reputation precedes him in the mountain world, but allow me to give a brief portrait of the man who climbed the 82 4000-meter peaks in 19 days.

Kilian Jornet is an extremely versatile mountaineer, probably the best of all time in mountain ultra-endurance activities. He has dominated the ski mountaineering and trail running scenes for the past fifteen years, winning numerous major races and competitions in these disciplines. Growing up in a refuge in the Spanish Pyrenees, the mountains have always been his favorite playground, whether running, climbing, or skiing. A multidisciplinary athlete, he has also set speed records on some of the world's highest mountains, including a double ascent of Everest.

Now based in Norway, Kilian continues to push his limits in mountain sports while inspiring a global community through his films, books, and talks. His latest feat, "Alpine Connections," involving climbing the 82 Alpine peaks over 4000 meters in just 19 days, showcases his extraordinary physical and mental capacity.

Martial Carbonnaux, ambassador of Lagoped and member of the Lagoped Family for over three years, shares this passion for the peaks. A great mountain and outdoor sports enthusiast, Martial set himself a challenge similar to Jornet’s, with a few differences: to climb the 82 Alpine peaks over 4000 meters, but over a period of five years. Through this project, he raises funds for the association l’Envol, which organizes medical stays for seriously ill children and their families. This personal challenge allows Martial to live his passion for the mountains and today, to view Kilian’s feat with a knowledgeable and admiring eye.

Kilian Jornet’s achievement, which made history in mountaineering with the ascent of the 82 Alpine peaks over 4000 meters, is an exceptional feat. In just 19 days, he accomplished what Italian mountaineers Franco Nicolini and Diego Giovanni had done in 60 days, dramatically breaking their record. This challenge, called Alpine Connections, started on August 13, 2023, in Switzerland and ended on September 1. Kilian covered more than 1200 kilometers on foot and by bike, while climbing 75,344 meters of elevation gain, covering between 25 and 50 kilometers per day at high altitude, with almost 4000 meters of positive elevation gain daily for nearly three weeks.

Among the 82 summits, 40% (32 summits) were completed alongside other renowned athletes, such as Mathéo Jacquemoud, Michel Lanne, Emily Harrop, and Benjamin Vedrines. Kilian was also followed by a team of four cameramen who documented his feat, and a team of physiologists accompanied him on part of the route to collect physiological data.

A support team of two people handled the supply and transported equipment to key points. The challenge began with the ascent of Piz Bernina (4,049 m) in Switzerland and ended on the Barre des Écrins (4,102 m) in France. Between these two peaks, Kilian also climbed some of the most famous mountains in the Alps, such as Pointe Dufour (4,634 m), the Matterhorn (4,478 m), and the majestic Mont Blanc (4,808 m).

Beyond the impressive numbers, Kilian describes this challenge as one of the most demanding of his career, requiring intense concentration for 20 consecutive days. "It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done," he admits, emphasizing that this project is much more than a simple sporting achievement. It represents a true mountain odyssey, a tribute to traditional mountaineering, shared with friends, while pushing the limits of self-transcendence. What’s also remarkable is that for some ascents, he was accompanied by renowned athletes like the French Michel Lanne and Mathéo Jacquemoud, themselves known for their exceptional physical condition. But often, after spending a day together and climbing a few summits, Kilian would continue his quest alone, a sign of the gap between Kilian’s abilities and those of others.

For Martial Carbonnaux, also engaged in climbing the 82 summits but at his own pace, Kilian's feat is not just about the summits themselves. "82 summits in 19 days, averaging more than four summits per day, is impressive. But it’s especially the distances covered and the daily elevation gains that are stratospheric." Fascinated by Kilian’s extraordinary endurance, Martial emphasizes how this performance surpasses mountaineering standards, with distances and efforts that few athletes in the world can sustain, and highlights, in this regard, the analysis by Guillaume Millet (professor of Physiology specializing in ultra-endurance) in an Outside article, Kilian Jornet is one of a kind, capable of holding the Sierre-Zinal record, a short trail, winning the UTMB, and undertaking extremely long efforts like the 2023 Crossing of the 3000m peaks of the Pyrenees, while also being very skilled on technical alpine sections. "He’s a true UFO!" concludes Martial.

Martial acknowledges, however, that their approach to the mountains shares similarities but is adapted to his own constraints. "Several friends teased me by comparing my challenge to Kilian's, but we're not in the same league. One could even say it's not the same sport!" he explains. Martial aims to optimize his mountain stays to maximize the number of summits: "For example, I did 1 or 2 'Kilian-style' days during the Mischabel Traverse with my guide Fred Dégoulet in 2022, but I enjoy myself more when I take my time."

Meticulous preparation and risk management are essential elements in an expedition of Kilian Jornet's scale. Completing 82 summits at such speed requires not only exceptional physical condition but also the ability to stay clear-headed in the face of constant mountain dangers. Martial Carbonnaux highlights the extent of the risks Kilian faced: "Less than 5 hours of sleep over 19 days, combined with physical and mental fatigue, increases the risk of error or technical mistakes." Mathéo Jacquemoud, in an analysis of this feat, mentions that the rapid succession of ascents makes route management and vigilance even more critical. Added to this are the specific conditions of late August, a period when the mountains are driest, making crevasses more visible but also increasing the frequency of rockfalls, a major risk factor according to Martial.

Despite his preparation and resilience, Kilian himself admitted to having crossed his "red line" during the solo crossing of the Aiguille Verte - Droites, a route particularly exposed to frequent rockfalls and landslides. Such extreme situations highlight the importance of risk management in the mountains. Kilian was often accompanied by other athletes on certain parts of his route, which helped reduce mental stress and fatigue. As Martial points out, "His extraordinary physiology gives him immense physical leeway, but even with that, accompaniment remains a key element in managing risks."

By comparison, Martial takes a different approach for his own ascents. Always accompanied by a guide, like Fred Dégoulet (Piolet d'Or in 2018 for opening a route on Nupste Nup II 7742m), who knows him well and understands if certain unusual sequences are accessible to Martial, he focuses on safety and preparation. “I don’t have the technical knowledge to go solo on some ascents,” he admits.

Accompanying such a figure in mountaineering offers him “the luxury of ‘choosing the time slots’” planned months in advance, but sometimes disrupted just hours before by weather windows and other unfavorable conditions. Together, they make thoughtful decisions to maximize their efficiency while staying safe. During a 2024 ascent, they had to turn back in Valais due to poor snow conditions, illustrating the importance of knowing when to give up to avoid dangerous situations. “If you’re locked into a record-chasing mindset where only the summit counts, then I think the decision is harder to make,” Martial concludes. 

Although he followed well-known sections familiar to expert mountaineers of the 82 Alpine summits, Kilian Jornet reimagined certain connections to seek what he called "the most logical line." Martial Carbonnaux points out that Jornet, despite careful planning, had to adapt his plans several times depending on weather conditions. It is especially in managing the “links” that Kilian showed ingenuity, often traveling alone over long sections to reach refuges, where he resupplied and slept briefly before setting off again. With less than five hours of sleep per day on average, he optimized his sequence more efficiently than legends like Ueli Steck or the Italian duo Franco Nicolini and Diego Giovanni, who regularly descended back to their base camp in the valley. Kilian Jornet, however, stayed at altitude. 

His journey through the Mont Blanc massif from August 26 to 28 was particularly impressive. Kilian completed 27 summits over 4000 meters in three effort sessions ranging from 22 to 29 hours, reaching nearly 5000 meters of elevation gain on the last day. Martial Carbonnaux comments: “Already, when you have the capacity to make efforts of 35 hours at over 4000 meters altitude, it makes everything easier!” Jornet followed the normal routes for most summits, except for some more technical connections, once again proving his extraordinary mountaineering talent. However, Martial points out that this approach differs from his own: “I have more time to discover certain refuges and spend more convivial moments. I can afford to choose routes that are less fast but more interesting from a mountaineering perspective, like the Kuffner ridge for Mont Maudit or the Biancograt on Piz Bernina.”

Kilian's challenge began with peaks like Piz Bernina (4,049 m) in Switzerland and ended with the Barre des Écrins (4,102 m) in France. Along the way, he faced difficult weather conditions, completed technical ascents in Valais, and climbed iconic summits such as the Weisshorn, Mont Blanc, and the Grandes Jorasses. Paul Bonhomme, in an article in Montagne Magazine, acknowledges: “where one might compare is in the commitment. On such a long project, it’s very impressive to have maintained clarity in such demanding conditions."

Kilian, despite the lack of specific preparation for this project, was able to rely on twenty years of accumulated mountain experience with a light style, as well as his base training for ultra-trail races. According to Martial, it is this expertise in managing long-distance efforts that prepared him to accomplish this feat, perhaps the work of a lifetime for him. "It seems that his fatigue was mainly mental and psychological rather than physical or muscular," notes Martial, emphasizing that unlike his crossing of the 3000m peaks in the Pyrenees, Kilian only lost one kilo, proof of his almost perfect nutritional management during the three weeks of intense effort.

For Martial, the challenge lies in balancing his project with a very demanding personal and professional life. A father of two children and working full-time, he acknowledges the difficulty of leaving his family to embark on his adventures. However, once everything is planned, the routes studied, and the date approaches, excitement takes over. "I get excited at the idea of spending a few days in the mountains, disconnected, in a place I usually don’t know, to create new unforgettable memories with a physical and mental challenge at the core," he shares. For Martial, the call of the mountains, as described by physicist and alpinist Etienne Klein and author of the book Psychisme ascensionnel, is irresistible: "more than three months without mountains is too long."

However, Martial’s project is much more than a simple personal challenge. His charitable approach, linked to the L’Envol association, gives it an even deeper dimension. The funds he raises for medical stays for sick children and the visits he dedicates to them bring a strong emotional meaning to his climbs. This cause is what motivates Martial to push beyond his physical and mental limits and to turn each of his expeditions into a generous commitment for these children and their families.

The feat of the one who recognizes, on the podcast Dans la tête d’un coureur, “being someone who loves the mountains and loves to go fast,” redefines the limits of what is possible in alpinisme. Through his speed, endurance, and mental commitment, he has shown that even the most ambitious projects can be achieved with good preparation, rigorous risk management, and constant self-surpassing. For Martial Carbonnaux, although their approaches differ, Kilian Jornet’s feat is a source of inspiration, just as his own longer and more thoughtful challenge, linked to a charitable cause, is. These two journeys testify to the diversity of mountain quests, where the human adventure, whether carried out at a frantic or more serene pace, remains above all a matter of passion and deep commitment.