SAMAYA X KILIAN JORNET
KILIAN JORNET JOINS THE SAMAYA FAMILY
On the occasion of his entry into the Samaya Family, Kilian Jornet tells us about his latest expedition to Nepal, his future projects in the Himalayas, France and Norway, and how he balances his foundation, his training, his trail running equipment brand and his family life.
You've just returned from a long expedition to Nepal. What motivated you to carry out your project there?
Kilian Jornet: The idea of the expedition was to attempt the West Ridge of Everest as a single push in alpine style. What I like about these projects is to find myself facing great peaks, with the complexity and difficulty that altitude gives, in a style like you can do in the Alps, with light ascents starting from the last village, often in single push or otherwise carrying all the gear on me, to climb the mountain without any external help, but only with my physical and technical abilities, in the purest form possible to face an ascent.
How did your ascent of the West Ridge go?
KJ: I acclimatized quite quickly. We settled in Namche Bazaar with my family and I was able to touch 6700m by leaving Namche for the day. Then we settled in Pheriche, at 4300m, from where I was able to do 3 more rotations, the last one almost touching 8000m at Geneva Spur. For these rotations, I left from Pheriche and wore my Samaya ASSAUT2 ULTRA which I set up at camp 2 on the normal route. I did all the acclimatization on the normal route to get to the West Ridge on sight, which brings more emotion to the climb as you discover the route during the push. Apart from a strong virus that left me flat for a week during acclimatization, the rest went very well and finally, on May 20, I began my attack. Starting from Pheriche, I climbed up to the base camp where I spent one night. On the morning of the 21st, I left after breakfast to reach camp 2, where I rested for the day in the ASSAUT2 tent. This allowed me to wait for the sun to disappear before tackling the climb to the West Shoulder at night, while avoiding a major risk of avalanches and rockfalls. When I climbed at night, I avoided carrying any extra gear and went as light as possible. So I set off at 5pm from camp 2 to reach the 1000m couloir leading to the west ridge. It was laborious, with sharp ice and very fresh snow - it took me 10 hours! When I reached the ridge, the wind was blowing hard, so I took shelter under a ledge to wait for daybreak and for the wind to die down. The ridge was in perfect condition, with hard snow. It's a very, very beautiful and varied route. It was also great to be on my own, when you see the queues on the normal routes in Nepal and Tibet. Arriving at the foot of Hornbein at 8000m, I took a 30-minute nap in the warmth of the sun and then started climbing the couloir. After 200m, when the couloir widened again, there were quite a few snow pockets. I broke one of them and fell about fifty meters before stopping. Seeing the conditions in this area, I finally decided to turn back. Even though I was feeling fine, the avalanche risk was too great for me. The descent wasn't easy, as it started to snow heavily, making my tracks disappear. With only a few meters of visibility, I had to do the whole descent following my GPS track from the climb, then de-escalate the long couloir in white ice to reach my tent again at camp 2, after a 30-hour push. I spent the night there, then packed up all my gear and headed back down to base camp the following morning.
What are your criteria for choosing equipment for your various bivouac projects?
KJ: I had equipment for acclimatization and Camp 2, where I wanted to be comfortable while still being able to carry with me, so weight and volume are very important. That's why I chose the ASSAUT2 tent. ULTRA. I took a light air mattress and a fairly thin sleeping bag (-15°C), so I slept with my down jackets on, which meant I was lighter and stayed warmer.
For your next expeditions, you're planning to take a RADICAL1 for even more minimalism and its wide opening. Do you already know where you want to take it?
KJ: Yes, during a single push in alpine style, weight is fundamental. Even if the difference between the ASSAUT2 ULTRA and the RADICAL1 is only 400g, that's a big difference! What's more, it means you can bivouac in comfort in bad weather or windy conditions on long runs.
Your bivouac practice is very versatile. You practice it both on your expeditions and on family outings. Can you tell us more about how you pass on your bivouac experience to your daughters?
KJ: We love going into the mountains with the girls, walking a bit and spending a night in a tent, listening to the sounds of the forest, animals singing at night... It's a great experience for everyone. We have a few projects here in Norway this summer, with the Samaya2.5, which we use a lot as a family and love!
What's next for you?
KJ: I have a list of projects that I'd like to carry out, but I don't yet know in what order I'll do them. In any case, there will be both projects involving nights in the mountains, in which I'll incorporate bivouacking, and one-push expedition projects. I'd like to try some very high-altitude sequences, which I imagine I'll do with one or two short nights' sleep to rest up. I don't yet know whether I'll be going alone or whether I'll find someone who's motivated and willing to make such a huge commitment. I'm also planning to come back to France in August for the Sierre-Zinal and the UTMB.
Alongside these projects and the launch of NNormal, how do you reconcile your training with the time you devote to your foundation?
KJ: I try to compartmentalize everything. For the foundation, there's an employee who works there every day, and then there are projects that I'm more involved in and that I also spend time on every day. There's also my mother, who helps out a lot and takes care of all the education stuff, especially in Spain. As far as NNormal is concerned, I'm not the only one managing it all. We're two partners and a team of fifteen people who are very involved.
