02:52


RECORD BREAKERS


Q Kilian races to Matterhorn summit and back in a staggering 2:52. The previous record was 3:14.


FIND OUT MORE www.uelisteck.ch


More about Ueli’s Himalaya project:


www.himalayaspeed.com www.kilianjornet.cat


More about Kilian’s Summits of My Life project:


R Ueli Steck: back to Everest? www.summitsofmylife.com


“THE WORLD'S FASTEST MOUNTAIN CLIMBER AND ITS FASTEST MOUNTAIN RUNNER TURNED OUT TO BE POLAR OPPOSITES”


and Matterhorn (1hr56), completing a neat trilogy of notorious Alpine North faces. Next, he raised his sights to redefi ning what's possible in the Himalaya.


In a way, this is where Ueli's story meets Kilian's. While Ueli fi rst pushed his technical climbing limit to 8a solos, then progressed to setting speed records on less technical mountaineering terrain, Kilian went the other way. First he pushed his speed limit winning trail races, then upped his game to setting speed records on more technical mountaineering terrain.


It was probably inevitable these two sponsored heroes, both looking for bigger speed challenges in mountaineering terrain, would both end up on Everest. Of course, both want to do something different and avoid the fi xed ropes of Everest's Normal Route, where speed records are traditionally set. And both think using oxygen is cheating. However, they aren’t going to race up the same route in a gameshow-style challenge. Kilian plans to set a speed record via one of Everest’s easy-angled snow couloirs – probably the Norton or Hornbein Couloir depending on conditions; Ueli’s plan is an ambitious, technical new route to the summit. Neither idea has been tried before. I’m intrigued to know what Ueli thinks of Kilian’s project. “Cool idea!” he says, “This is right, the Normal Route is just pulling on ropes, but technical wise, the colouirs are very easy – snow slopes, nothing more. I think it is very cool to be able to climb mountains so fast and so easily like Kilian.” However, he wants to make the distinction between his game and Kilian's clear: “we still have to make the difference – technical routes is the challenge these days, not long easy climbs.” Personally, I think they are both pushing different aspects


of moving fast and light in the mountains to new levels. There are similarities between training for mountain ultras and to race up north faces but, at the very top end, running and climbing essentially work against each other; Ueli has a top-heavy body, while Kilian is a pair of legs and lungs. Kilian climbs average grades – like 6c sport, 6a solos, some 90º ice and M6 terrain – explaining: “I really don’t train too much in rock climbing so is diffi cult to improve the level.” On the other hand, while Ueli runs a lot for fi tness (eighth in the recent 51km Eiger Ultra Trail suggests he’s quite fast), he’s unlikely to catch Kilian up on easier-angled terrain. Who’s to say how much further Kilian will blur the boundary between climbing and running in the future, though. He’s only 25, tells me Ueli is a huge inspiration for him and says he thinks Ueli’s Everest project “is the way to approach big summits in the future.” But there’s also a chance Kilian will quietly slip into the shadows like a marmot. He loves racing but fame is, for him, an unfortunate by-product of winning.


And what about Ueli? I bite the bullet and ask: will he go back to Everest and climb the route he planned? Steck thinks for a moment, before replying: “You have to be honest – you cannot always climb harder and higher. I feel already I am not that driven any more compared to ten years ago. I can really enjoy just being out there. I really love to be in the mountains with my wife. We have a great time together.” I ask what Ueli most likes about himself. “I really can fi ght


and I like that,” he responds. And dislike? “My way how I can focus on something.” Whichever way you look at it, it’s surely not in his obsessive nature to let the biggest challenge he's ever set himself go. So, will he go back to Everest?


He smiles. “You never know...” 28 | 70TH ANNIVERSARY | FOR BRITISH CLIMBING AND WALKING SINCE 1944


R What's next for Kilian Jornet?


BMC member Sarah Stirling is a freelance outdoor writer based in Chamonix, France. A keen runner, she has spent much of the last two months chasing Ueli and Kilian to meet up for Summit. Maybe next time! Find out more at www.sarahstirling.com.


PHOTO: SEB MONTAZ.


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