Are Kilian Jornet's Speed Records Too Good to Be True?

https://www.outsideonline.com/2324076/ultrarunner-kilian-jornet-everest-controversy

by gpresot • 8 years ago

55 35 8 years ago

runnr_az3• 8 years ago

No. (At least to anyone who's followed his career.) That dude is a total class act.

As a side note, the article mentions a Seb Montaz-Rosset film that features Kilian called "Downside Up." It's... maybe one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Ski mountaineering is amazing! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/downsideup

DrBazza• 8 years ago

Betteridge's Law of headlines.

chair6• 8 years ago

The dude is a freakin' machine. There's a short film (13 mins) called 'Kilian' at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eVBrMcflDE which made it into the Banff Film Festival last year. Worth a watch if you want get a better feel for how he travels and his thought process. Food for twenty hours in the mountains? Oh, I'll probably take 4 Snickers or something...

zwp• 8 years ago

Nice, thanks.

What are those cute little axes that he's running? And what's going on with them at 10m50 - is that a foldout pinky rest?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eVBrMcflDE&t=650

aplusbi2• 8 years ago

Looks like a pair of Petzl gully axes.

bosdev• 8 years ago

I really don't get why he doesn't just carry a reliable GPS tracker with him. Seems so much easier than arguing with people online.

aplusbi2• 8 years ago

He's probably using a GPS watch which is very convenient but error prone. They'll frequently get misreads (where they briefly think you are miles away from where you actually are) and accumulate small amounts of error over time (the granularity isn't great, so sometimes it will continue to increment distance even if you are standing still).

Really reliable GPS trackers are big and heavy, and for someone attempting speed records just not worth the weight. And even with reliable GPS tracker there will still be doubters who will claim the data was faked.

logicallee• 8 years ago

How does error-prone GPS work on a technical level? Based on a description of GPS I would think it's kind of an "all or nothing" thing (no signal, or exact calculated position)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System

I just don't get how you can get "low-fi GPS". What happens exactly? Either you receive the signal or you don't, and any bounces off the ground or something will just add a couple of meters.

notdang2• 8 years ago

For his runs he is using a Suunto 9 watch

gaius• 8 years ago

Indeed, he is sponsored by Suunto https://www.suunto.com/en-GB/About-Suunto/People/Kilian-Jorn...

runnr_az3• 8 years ago

... because, really, who cares? Why should we let the trolls dictate how we enjoy the outdoors and decide the rules?

24gttghh• 8 years ago

I don't understand the desire to race as fast as possible through the natural splendor of the mountains. I feel like these speed-climbing folks are really missing out on the experience.

mbostleman• 8 years ago

I am just a weekend warrior, but my primary motivation in the mountains is continuously upping my skills and fitness to move through them faster and more efficiently. I don't feel like I'm missing an experience. To the contrary, I feel like I'm closer to the experience because much of it involves understanding the environment, yourself, the tech, and how they all work together. There are also a number of practical benefits to moving fast. For one, the longer you spend on a route, the more exposure you have to risks from all categories. So the faster you get there and back, the less likely you are to get hurt (assuming your speed is based on skill and fitness and not carelessness). Second, if there is a tangible need to get something done (like a rescue), then being able to do it quickly and safely is invaluable. As such, one of the benefits of the new social media sponsored mountain athletes like Jornet is that boundaries are pushed and we get to learn new things about what humans can do on mountains.

EliRivers3• 8 years ago

For some of these people, the fact that there's natural splendour there isn't the point and isn't relevant. It's like game-grinding. Pick a new achievement - running through mountain trail X - and then grind it. Tick it off, do the next one. Whatever they're seeking is inside their heads and the setting is just a convenience. It could just as easily be a featureless 50 mile tunnel. The setting is relevant only as far as it's a recognised thing to grind and tick off.

adenadel2• 8 years ago

This is not at all how professional trail/ultra runners approach their lives. You can follow a lot of them on social media (including Kilian Jornet) see how they actually spend their days.

mereel• 8 years ago

For some of these people, the fact that there's natural splendour there isn't the point and isn't relevant

I can't think of a single climber, mountaineer or ultra runner I know that any of that applies to (including myself). Do you have any actual examples of people like that?

setting is just a convenience

Nothing about ultra running in the mountains is a "convenience"... in my experience the opposite is true, and almost everything done in the mountains is done easier on flat ground.

watwut• 8 years ago

They spend ridiculous amount of time in mountains while training. They also do climbs that are not speed climbs.

runjake• 8 years ago

He grew up in the Pyrenees mountains and has spent much of his life since exploring the world professionally. He's not missing out on experiences.

buzzdenver2• 8 years ago

It's a different kind of experience than if you were to check out every pebble and smell every flower. I don't think you can compare them and say which one is more valid.

To better understand the "other side", consider these:

o When going fast you cover more ground, see the mountain from different sides, catch the view from different peaks, etc...

o Exerting yourself physically excites the body and the mind. It's just a different overall experience, some would say more primal.

(edit formatting)

derek_frome• 8 years ago

This has been my experience. For instance, there's a ~40 mile loop in the Sierras that I've done as a 3 day backpacking trip and as a one-day run.

Carrying more means I can bring my nice camera and take photos anywhere I want to stop. But going light and fast means I get to experience the place unburdened, with just food and water on my back.

It's impossible to say one is better or worse than the other. Although I can tell you which one hurt more.

argyleaf• 8 years ago

From a former climber's perspective, moving expediently through terrain is frequently the safest mode of operation. Every second you are in the mountains you are exposing yourself to increased risk of a catastrophic accident. Even if this is a terrifically low probability event if you spend enough time there it will likely bite you. Thus pursuing the fastest methods of travel is, from my perspective, aspiring to the highest ideals of mountaineering because it allows you to do it for longer (hopefully).

dnhz• 8 years ago

Going up to those altitudes without supplemental oxygen sounds absolutely insane to me. Studies via MRI have shown brain damage even in climbers climbing Mont Blanc (4,808.7 m (15,777 ft)).

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brain-cells-into-...

buzzdenver2• 8 years ago

This is Outside magazine stirring the pot for no good reason. Kilian has proven dozens of times in highly competitive and controlled races that he is a notch above competitors from his generation. Also, the FKT-s he sets are not out of this world, and many of them have been broken since (Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua iirc). Anyone who has used a watch GPS enough times will know that once in a while they will just misbehave and report incorrect coordinates.

h2j24• 8 years ago

I think the article largely paints a favorable picture of Kilian.

Are Kilian Jornet's Speed Records Too Good to Be True?

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