Kilian Jornet completes the most difficult part of his challenge in the United States.

BarcelonaKilian Jornet continues his most demanding challenge yet. The Catalan rider began the States of Elevation on September 5th, a journey in which he will use only human means to connect peaks over 14,000 feet (approximately 4,267 meters) in the United States, on foot and by bicycle. An exceptionally demanding challenge, in which Jornet will complete the equivalent of a Tour de France stage and a marathon each day, passing through states such as Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

Jornet has successfully completed the first leg in the mountains of Colorado. For sixteen days, he has hiked and cycled through the rugged terrain of the state of Colorado, climbing mountains over 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) and tackling some of the most iconic and complex routes in the country. "It was amazing to finish the Colorado leg - the mountains are spectacular and the nature here feels very special. In the first two weeks the weather was really harsh which added an extra challenge. The first week I felt terrible - probably because of the jet lag and the altitude, but then I improved, even when the bad weather continued," explains Kilian Jornet.

Jornet's adventure began on September 3 with the goal of climbing to 56 fourteeners Colorado. Key moments include iconic crossings like the LA Freeway, the Elks, and the Nolan's 14 challenge, as well as iconic peaks like Mount Elbert and Pikes Peak. On these physically and technically demanding routes, he faced storms, strong winds, and changing terrain. Despite the extreme conditions, Jornet achieved "a deep connection with the environment and the wild nature" of the Rockies.

In sixteen days, Kilian chained together 56 peaks over 14,000 feet (approximately 4,267 meters) across Colorado, covering 1,943 km with 78,004 meters of elevation gain. He biked most of the distance, but spent most of his time on foot, averaging about 121 km and 4,875 meters of elevation gain per day—roughly a marathon walk plus about 1,000 meters. He did this on about 4.5 hours of sleep per night, in harsh conditions: rain or snow on eight of the sixteen days, with temperatures as low as -9°C on the peaks and 26°C in the valleys.

Throughout the journey, Kilian has been supported by a community of athletes who contribute their time, knowledge, and experience. Kyle Richardson joined him on Longs Peak, with Lael Wilcox joining him overnight. Sam Wescott raced with Kilian on Quandary Peak, while Ken Gordon (Hardrock 100 board member) and Gavin McKenzie (NNormal representative) joined him on Colorado's highest peaks. Simi Hamilton (Elks FKT) joined him on Capitol Peak, with Ryan Hall following later. Lewis Wu (co-founder of Corazones) raced with him on La Plata Peak, and Sage Canaday joined him to complete Nolan's 14. Western States runner-up Chris Myers and Hans Troyer joined Kilian on Pikes Peak. As Kilian continued his journey, Anna Frost, Meghan Hicks, and Bryon Powell joined him on Handies Peak, and Scott Simons joined him on the approach bike. NNormal athlete Dakota Jones accompanied Kilian from Mount Sneffels and continued through the Chicago Basin, and Joe Grant joined him in the Basin to complete the final push. After 943 kilometers in Colorado, Jornet heads toward Oregon in search of more summits.

A new challenge

This project is part of Kilian Jornet's previous challenges, such as Alpine Connections and Pyrenees 3000, in which he linked high mountain peaks in the Alps and the Pyrenees, respectively. In 2023, Jornet embarked on the first of these challenges, which combines sport, nature, and identity. He then wanted to reconnect with the scenes of his first summits. the Pyrenees, and made an eight-day tour of 177 peaks over 3,000 metersCombining cycling and climbing, he crossed the Pyrenees on an emotional journey through the scenes of his life. Jornet, who climbed the 3,404-meter Aneto mountain at the age of 5, grew up in these landscapes because his father worked at the Cap del Rec refuge and his mother was a mountain sports instructor. The 2023 goal led him to think about a new one, this time in 2024 in the Alps. He then decided to climb all the peaks over 4,000 meters in that mountain range, moving from one to the next on foot or by bicycle, which he accomplished in nineteen days.