Himalaya Spring 2015: Expeditions to Watch

This weekend many climbers from across the globe will set out for Nepal at long last. Even though there has already been action in the Himalaya this spring, the season won't truly get underway until next week when the teams begin arriving in Kathmandu in droves. It'll take them some time to get out to their various Base Camps, but things are about to get very interesting in the big mountains.

To prepare us for the season ahead, Alan Arnette shared a post yesterday detailing some of the major expeditions to watch in the weeks ahead. Most of these climbs center around Everest of course, but several will focus on other major peaks too. Alan himself will leave shortly for Nepal as well, where he'll be attempting Lhotse this spring.

Among the climbs that Alan recommends keeping an eye on this year are an expedition to the rarely visited North-Northeast Ridge, where Canadian Raphael Slawinski will be joined by Germans David Goettler and Daniel Bartsch to attempt a new route without the use of Sherpas or supplemental oxygen. This side of the mountain has only been scaled one other time, but a Russian team back in 1996. The trio will be going up the ridge along a different path however.

Kilian Jornet's speed attempt on Everest will certainly get plenty of attention as well. His original plans were to make the attempt from the North Side, but Alan's report seems to indicate that is no longer the case. Considering the challenges and uncertainty that come with climbing in Tibet, and the fact that some operators switched sides and cancelled climbs on the North, perhaps Kilian has had to change up his plans as well. That will make things difficult for him, as the larger crowds on the South Side will certainly alter his approach.

Other interesting expeditions on the schedule an attempt to ski the Lhotse Coulair on Everest by Matt Moniz and Wilie Benegas. Alan says the coulair has never been fully skied before, and these two climbers will do it after summiting Everest. British climber Kenton Cool has ambitious plans for the weeks ahead as well. He'll first attempt to summit Everest – something he has done 11 times in the past – before moving on to Kangchenjunga and eventually K2. 23-year old Brit Rupert Jones-Warner will attempt to summit Everest from both the North and South Side, using a helicopter to travel between the two Base Camps on the respective sides of the mountain. Finally, German climbing legend Ralf Dujmovits is returning to Everest once again to attempt to summit without the use of bottled oxygen. Ralf has already climbed all 8000-meter peaks, but feels he has unfinished business on Everest after using O's to summit that peak.

That's the run-down of Alan's suggestions for climbs to watch this spring. Of course, I'm sure there will be plenty of other interesting expeditions to keep an eye on as well. The season is only about to get underway, so there should be plenty of action to come.

Aconcagua Speed Record Smashed Again!

It seems I missed quite a bit while I was away.

Back in December, Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet impressed us all with his amazing run up and down Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America at 6962 meters (22,841 ft). At the time, Jornet destroyed the old record by more than three hours, posting a total time for the roundtrip at 12 hours and 49 minutes. As impressive as that effort was however, the new speed record was short lived, as it has already been broken by another very talented mountain athlete.

According to reports, Ecuadorian-Swiss sky runner Karl Egloff shaved nearly an hour off Jornet's time, by running to the summit and back in a mind-blowing 11 hours and 52 minutes. Both men used the same route up and down the mountain, covering some 40 km (25 miles), and notching up 4062 meters (13,327 ft) of vertical gain in the process.

While not quite as well known as Jornet, Egloff continues to add to his impressive resume. Back in 2013, the Spaniard ran up and down Kilimanjaro in just 7 hours and 14 minutes. Egloff would later break that record as well, besting Jornet by more than 30 minutes.

It seems that Jornet has a rival to keep him on his toes at long last. The Spanish runner is busy preparing to attempt a speed record on Everest this spring, and is probably completely focused on that  effort. Both of these men are supreme mountain athletes of course, and I'd love to see them compete head-to-head on a trail with one another. For now though, we'll probably have to be satisfied with each of them pushing harder on these speed record runs.

Controversy Brewing Over Alleged South Pole Speed Record

There seems to be some controversy brewing over an alleged speed record for skiing to the South Pole. ExWeb is reporting that adventurer Martin Szwed has made claims to various media outlets saying that he broke the speed record for skiing solo across Antarctica. Apparently, Szwed is saying that he not only beat the current record held by Christian Eide, but that he did so by nearly ten days. The problem is, there doesn't seem to be any record of this amazing feat.

According to recent claims by Szwed, he was in the Antarctic this past season to climb Mt. Vinson and ski to the South Pole. His summit of Mt. Vinson has been confirmed to ExWeb by officials at ANI/ALE, who supported him on that venture. But after he finished climbing, Szwed says that he then launched his ski expedition – presumably from the Russian Novo station – which he was then able to complete in 14 days, 18 hours, and 43 minutes. Eide's amazing record, which was set back in 2011, is an impressive 24 days, 1 hour, and 13 minutes.

To further cast doubt on his expedition, Szwed has told various media outlets that he skied 1192 km, 1280 km, and 1300 km. Those varying distances have further helped to call his story into question. He also claims to have used three supply depots along the way, which as ExWeb points out would invalidate his "solo" claim to any speed record.

To put this in perspective, in order to cover the distance that Szwed is claiming, he would have to cover more than 86 km (53 miles) each and every day in tough conditions, while pulling a heavy sled. That would be an incredibly difficult task for sure. ExWeb calls it "herculean," which seems fitting.


But that isn't all. ANI officials, who are pretty much the authority on what happens in the Antarctic, told ExWeb "Based on our contact with other operators and German officials, we have received no indication that the expedition took place. Umweltbundesamt / Federal Environment Agency Germany did not issue a ski expedition permit for him to go the South Pole and TAC [the logistics operator in Cape Town] did not provide him transportation following his Vinson ascent."

Furthermore, the staff at the U.S. South Pole Station, located at 90ºS, says that no one there has seen nor heard of Martin Szwed, nor has there been any arrivals at the Pole since ALE finished their operations three weeks back.

At this point, it seems like Szwed is trying to pull a fast one in order to bolster is reputation. Until he can provide any kind of evidence to support his claims, or someone else can step forward to act as a witness, all of his speed record claims should be viewed as false. So far, Szwed has not responded to ExWeb's inquiries.

It's a shame that these kinds of stories continue to crop up, particularly in an era when it is so easy to verify the information.

Sky Runner Kilian Jornet in The New Yorker

Kilian Jornet's amazing success in the mountains continues to earn him plenty of mainstream press. We've seen the Spanish sky runner garner attention from a number of unexpected sources as word of his exploits has spread to more traditional media outlets. The latest such outlet is The New Yorker, which recently published an excellent profile of the man who is setting new standards for speed on some of the world's most challenging peaks.

The article catches up with Kilian on Aconcagua, a mountain that he summited back in December, setting a new speed record in the process. It discusses his previous speed records on mountains Denali in Alaska and Mont Blanc in France. It even mentions his attempt at Elbrus, which was turned back due to high winds. The New Yorker says he'll give that mountain another go later this year, but at the moment he is squarely focused on training for Everest in the spring. The tallest peak on the planet will bring new challenges to Jornet, not the least of which will be the extreme altitude.

This profile takes us to Aconcagua Base Camp where we get a glimpse of Kilian's routine while on the mountain. His needs are simple as he shares the campsite with his girlfriend Emelie Forsberg, who is an accomplished mountain runner in her own right. The two make their own meals, boil water for tea, and generally keep each other company as they both prepared to challenge the speed records on the mountain. Due to the high altitude of Aconcagua, the tallest peak outside of Asia at 6962 meters (22,841 ft), both athletes had to take their time with the acclimatization process.

The story offers some good details about Kilian's speed record on the mountain, as well as his intentions for the year ahead. In a few months, he'll head to the Himalaya, where he'll be attempting to set a new "fastest known time" on the North Side of Everest. That makes good sense, as the Tibetan side of the mountain is far less crowded than the busy South Side in Nepal. The route is just as challenging of course, but he also won't have to contend with the tricky Khumbu Icefall, a traditional bottleneck for climbers that can cause progress to slow to a craw at times. On the North Side he'll still have to contend with plenty of obstacles however, not the least of which will be the Second Step.

Still, if anyone can set a new speed record on the Big Hill, it'll probably be Kilian. And you can bet that we'll be following his progress closely this spring. We're two months away from the arrival of the first teams in Nepal, and the anticipation for another season is already starting to grow.

Kilian Jornet Sets New Speed Record on Aconcagua!

Photo Courtesy of Summits of My Life

If you follow my Twitter feed, this is probably old news to you by now, but I definitely wanted to share it here on the Adventure Blog as well. Yesterday, Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet set a new speed record on Aconcagua, smashing the previous time for the fastest ascent and return to Base Camp by more than two hours.

Setting out from the Horcones entrance to the Aconcagua National Park, Kilian ran to the summit of the mountain, located at 6962 meters (22,841 ft), and back again in the unbelievable time of just 12 hours and 49 minutes. He ran along the "normal" route to the top, covering some 59.85 km (37.1 miles), while gaining 3962 meters (12,998 ft) along the way. To put this in perspective, most climbing expeditions spend roughly 8-10 days on this same route, acclimatizing as they go. In Kilian's case, he acclimatized prior to the speed record attempt, and even went to the summit last week.

The previous record for the fastest time on Aconcagua was held by Jorge Egocheaga, how ran the same route a few years back, covering the distance in 15 hours, 5 minutes. Kilian bested that mark by 2 hours, 16 minutes in yet another demonstration of his incredible strength and endurance in the mountains. This was his second attempt at the record in less than a week. Last Friday, he set off along the same route, but turned back at 6500 meters (21,325 ft) due to very high winds.

This was the latest challenge in Jornet's Summits of My Life project. Previously, he has set speed records on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Denali as well. Next up, he intends to head to Everest in the spring to see if he can set yet one more speed record on the biggest hill of them all.

Congratulations to Kilian on yet another amazing accomplishment. His efforts in the mountains continue to astound and amaze me. I am already looking forward to seeing what he can do in the Himalaya this coming spring.

Aconcagua Speed Record Update: Kilian Turns Back in High Winds

On Friday, I posted the news that Kilian Jornet had launched his attempt to set a speed record on Aconcagua, the tallest peak in South America at 6962 meters (22,841 ft) in height. At the time, I mentioned that it might be awhile before we heard anything about his progress, and the success of failure of this attempt. It turns out it wasn't as long as we had hoped, as news was posted later in the day that the mountain runner had turned back due to high winds.

According to updates from Kilian's Facebook page, the Spanish endurance runner got as high as 6500 meters (21,235 ft) before turning around. He was reportedly making good time on his summit bid, but began experiencing high winds that exceeded 90 km/h (56 mph), which made it extremely difficult for him to continue upwards. When you're on a mountain like Aconcagua, those kinds of winds speeds can be very dangerous, particularly when you're traveling as light and fast as Kilian was.

The high winds didn't come completely by surprise. When Kilian announced that he was making his speed attempt, he mentioned that the weather wasn't as good as he'd like, specifically mentioning that the winds could be a problem. Of course, discretion is the better part of valor, and it was a wise move for him to turn back. According to the post on his Facebook page, he will try again soon, possibly as early as today or tomorrow depending on conditions.

Aconcagua is the latest in Kilian's Summits of My Life project, during which he has set speed records on other peaks, including Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Denali. On Aconcagua, he is hoping to break the old record, set by Jorge Egocheaga in 2011, of 15 hours and 5 minutes. If all goes according to schedule, he'll also be traveling to Nepal in the spring to attempt a speed record on Everest as well.

I'll be watching Kilian's social media outlets over the next few days to see when he starts his second attempt at this record. After having a couple of days back in Base Camp to rest, he is probably watching the weather forecasts at the moment, and waiting for his next opportunity. I'll post updates as I hear anything.

Kilian Jornet in Argentina to Attempt Speed Record of Aconcagua

Endurance athlete and mountain runner Kilian Jornet is currently in Argentina, where he just wrapped up the final leg of his Mountains of My Life Tour by sharing the film, and his thoughts on climbing and running, with an audience in Mendoza. But it is no coincidence that he wrapped up the tour in the South American country, as he is now preparing for his next big challenge – setting a speed record on Aconcagua, the tallest mountain on the continent.

After finishing up his speaking commitments, the Spaniard will now head to the mountain. At 6960 meters (22,837 ft) in height, Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya. It can be a formidable challenge for climbers, not so much because of its technical difficulties, but more so do to the altitude. The "normal" route approaches the summit from the north, and typically doesn't require the use of ropes, ice axes, or other climbing gear. Supplemental oxygen is not usually required either.

Kilian will take his usual approach to climbing the mountain. First, he'll spend some time on Aconcagua getting acclimated, while also training for the conditions there. Once he feels he has sufficiently prepared, he'll look for a window of good weather before setting off for the summit. The speed attempt will be a minimalist affair, with the endurance runner carrying only the gear that he absolutely needs.

The official speed record for Aconcagua is recognized a 15 hours, 42 minutes, which was set by Carlos Sa. In 2007, that record was broken by Jorge Egocheaga, who completed the climb and descent in just 15 hours, 5 minutes. Unfortunately, he didn't take the proper steps to make his record official, so it is not recognized by everyone. Kilian does recognize Egocheaga's record however, and will be trying to break it when he finally launches his attempt on the mountain.

This will be the second to last climb on the Summits of My Life project. If all goes according to plan, Kilian plans to go to Everest in the spring to attempt a speed record there as well. That mountain will present some new, and interesting, challenges for him, but as perhaps the best long-distance endurance runner on the planet, I think he'll be up to that challenge.

I'll post updates on Kilian's Aconcagua attempt over the next few weeks, and of course I'l'l be following his progress on Everest in the spring as well.