100 questions and answers about Kilian Jornet!

It's a wonderful place. There are many mountains, not very high but technical. Winters are long and not too crowded: It's perfect for them.

27. Does Kilian Jornet consider himself a very sociable person?

he Sees himself as a not very sociable person and his friends and family confirm this in multiple interviews. Kilian Jornet affirms that he can go for a month without seeing anyone and he doesn't miss it. It's not going to be your job to look for someone to talk to or do things with. The social issue does not call him.

28. Is Kilian Jornet a communicative and approachable person?

Despite not being a very sociable person, he likes social networks, thinking about how they work, writing, doing things, communicating. Think about how to communicate. Being with people, after a while, consumes a lot of energy. You have to find the balance between being in society or being alone. If he is more than 30 percent with people, he loses his balance.

29. How does Kilian Jornet manage going on an expedition for days with other people?

In the words of Kilian Jornet: “You can spend hours with people in the mountains and say three words to each other: When you meet someone you don't need to speak either, when you go on an expedition you spend 24 hours with the same person and you have communicated 4 syllables for your needs What to do: I turn on the stove… there is communication, but it is different.says Kilian Jornet.

30. Is Kilian Jornet a practical person?

he doesn't like to waste time. You can do something running or walking, why walk.

31. Does Kilian Jornet feel proud of having been able to lead his life to do what he is passionate about?

Kilian Jornet is proud every day to be able to fulfill his dreams, to go out and be in a wonderful place. “Sometimes you don't realize it because it's like the norm, like going to the office."There are things that make you more proud and others less, but he assures that he has known how to make the decisions to get to where I am now.

32. What does Kilian Jornet think about transcendence, about idols or legends?

“Sports in the end covers a short period of time, it is important to use your life to do things that make you happy. oblivion. It's frustrating, we forget quickly, we live in the present. Today is the only thing that is real. What you do is going to be forgotten and that, on the other hand, also takes pressure off you. What is a life in the history of the human being? The most important things we do are insignificant. They will forget.

33. Is Kilian Jornet interested in politics?

He doesn't believe in politics, his belief is anarchist and he thinks that the perfect utopia is a world without politicians, with people having the necessary solidarity and education to not have laws and things like that, but hey, this is a utopia very far.

34. Is getting information part of Kilian Jornet's daily routine?

Yes, normally Kilian Jornet reads Le Monde, the New York Times, Ara or La Vanguardia every morning.

35. Does Kilian Jornet think that sport is mythologized?

Kilian Jornet affirms: “Yes, you can earn a living, in the end what counts is the work you can do with material. Helping to develop material, attending conferences... the fact that millions of dollars are paid for that, for the image, is something that is counterproductive. We need to create healthy people, the jobs that are in need are anonymous, and those that are in the image have more impact. People want a show.says Kilian Jornet.

36. What are the illusions in the life of Kilian Jornet?

According to Kilian Jornet, family life is interesting, as is seeing the post-sport part. Teaching things, transmitting others, global concerns, ecology, consumption…

37. What is one of Kilian Jornet's biggest dreams?

Learn and inspire. In his own words, Kilian Jornet: “you always want to learn new things, to know if everything is possible for you, to inspire others, to be inspired…”, says Kilian Jornet.

38. How does Kilian Jornet feel about being one of the best ultra-marathon runners in history?

“I run, I don't think, I'm not a philosopher, what I say doesn't have that much value. You put your life in danger to get an emotion, a sensation. It is selfish.says Kilian Jornet.

39. Who are the main references in the life of Kilian Jornet?

Paul Preus, Reinhold Messner, Walter Bonatti. And among the younger ones, people like Alex Honnold.

40. Is Kilian Jornet considered a benchmark for others?

“Through what I do I can motivate people, maybe sometimes you motivate kids to play sports or get closer to nature and understand how the environment works, and that difficult things can be done with work .says Kilian Jornet.

41. What is one of Kilian Jornet's biggest dreams?

Know myself, know your limits as a human being.

42. What is Kilian Jornet's philosophy of life?

One of Kilian Jornet's maxims: “Don't worry about what others think, don't listen to what they feel they need to say. You have one life, when you die you only have the memory of the things that have made you happy, the rest is not important. Be direct with yourself and work to achieve happiness.says Kilian Jornet.

43. What is Kilian Jornet's attitude towards success?

“The greatest success is the one you will have tomorrow. I don't think about past achievements at all. The past has allowed me to open the doors of the future. “ affirms Kilian Jornet.

44. What was it like for Kilian Jornet to lose his admired friend Stéphane Brosse climbing Mont Blanc in 2012?

“It's hard to process why he fell and not me, when we were on the same ledge. After that you ask yourself a lot of questions and it takes a while to be able to understand and enjoy the mountain again.says Kilian Jornet.

45. What is Kilian Jornet's favorite music?

Kilian Jornet has quite a broad taste! From classical music with Bach to the punk of The Clash, Ska, and other authors such as Pau Riba, Claudio Lolli, Antonia Font…

46. Which books does Kilian Jornet recommend?

Silk” and “Oceano Mare” by Alessandro Barico in first place. Also the books by Milan Kundera, Camus and Saramago are great, they talk about the human personality. He believes that other authors such as Sampedro and Mishima are ideal for understanding different points of view on life. Kafka and Agota Kristof, affirms that they are perfect for looking inside ourselves.

47. What does the mountain offer us?

Kilian Jornet is clear: “The mountain teaches you to see how small you are. You are just as fragile as anyone else.says Kilian Jornet.

48. What was Kilian Jornet's first race?

The first great trek he did was the Cavalls del Vent, an 80km route in the Catalan Pyrenees when he was 13 years old. The first race with a bib was the Valmalenco-Valposchiavo in Italy in 2007. In ski mountaineering, the first was the Puig d'Alp-Puigllançada in La Molina, in 2001.

49. Can Kilian Jornet live apart from the mountain?

If he is away from the mountain for a long time, Kilian Jornet says that he notices that he needs to recharge his energy as soon as possible. When he returns there he needs a lot of mountains and to be alone.

50. How did Kilian Jornet's interest in trail running and cross-country skiing come about?

"I grew up on a mountain in the Pyrenees and my parents took me on hikes abroad since I was very young. We hiked in the summer and skied in the winter, and I started training more seriously at the age of 13. Running was the best way to train during the summer, and also the easiest to go fast and discover new places”, says Kilian Jornet.

51. What does the mountain mean to Kilian Jornet?

“The mountain represents everything to me. It's like a huge playground where I run, walk, sleep and live. I don't think I could be anywhere else, and this is where I hope to find happiness.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

52. What was Kilian Jornet's toughest challenge?

As for the competition, each race is a tough challenge, you have to fight to try to win. All the riders prepare to be at the highest level, and things are always difficult. Actually, it depends a lot on what we understand by hardness. A ski mountaineering sprint (3 minutes) can be very hard because the level is very high. At an agonizing level, the vertical kilometers (in ski mountaineering) are the hardest, 30 minutes giving everything, without reservations. As for the expeditions to the Himalayas or the challenges of Summits of My Life, they all have their peculiarities and difficulties. However, luckily, the emotions you feel when you achieve your goals outweigh all the hard times you may have gone through.

53. What was it like for Kilian Jornet to be at 7.000m on Everest?

You can enjoy it deeply, under many layers, but you suffer. The first time, 300 meters from the summit saw the sunset and I enjoyed it. He was fine, with the whole night and the mountain to himself.

54. What did Kilian Jornet do when he came down from Everest?

“I came back from Everest and the next day I went for a run, I am me when I am in the mountains.”

55. How to survive the so-called “altitude drunkenness” (when there is a lack of oxygen)?

Kilian Jornet's advice: “What you do, that is, what helps me to survive I use, what I don't, get out. You have to use the minimum energy. Sometimes it can affect you a little more and you can suffer small hallucinations… “

56. What is the top of Everest like according to Killian Jornet?

Small, no bigger than a table. The edge is longer. The view must be beautiful, the first time I arrived at midnight and the second time when it was getting dark.

57. How was the experience of being on top of Everest for Kilian Jornet?

“You enjoy the surroundings and your own smallness. When you're alone on a mountain like this you realize how small you are. And although you are looking for excitement, you have to try to eliminate euphoria and fear, because they lead you to make incorrect decisions.”

58. How does Kilian Jornet manage such long races in his mind?

“In long-distance events, when you have been running for many hours, many things come to mind. You start with the excitement of the race, then with the scenery, you distract yourself with music, you think about the things you have to do as if you were at home or working. In fact, running becomes one more automatism, like breathing. When you start to suffer, you try to trick the mind to hide the pain, first by setting yourself small objectives “I get to this hill, control and then abandon.” and thus, little by little, marking small victories for me, you manage to finish. Other times you make up stories, you imagine you are a soldier or an Indian being chased, you sing songs. And when the fatigue is very great, you simply enter a bubble where you don't even have the strength to think, just keep going.says Kilian Jornet.

59. How many kilometers does Kilian Jornet do per year?

Kilian Jornet about 7 years ago.000km running, 6.000 with skis and 1.000 on a road bike.

60. What is the most tedious thing for Kilian Jornet about running for so many hours?

Kilian Jornet says that the hardest thing in the world is boredom.

61. Can you make a living from ski mountaineering or trail running?

Kilian Jornet is resounding in his denial. He affirms that it is not easy since it is a minority sport and there is little help. He is very lucky with sponsors, but there are many athletes who have to combine seasons with a job in another sector.

62. Is Kilian Jornet in permanent communion with the environment?

It is the land where he lives and spends most of the hours of his life. Thank you for being lucky enough to be well and for being born in a country where you can choose what you do. “Traveling you realize that we have the great luck of deciding what to do with our lives.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

63. Does Kilian Jornet train with a coach or on his own?

He has been doing his physical training himself for years. When I was young I trained with Maite Hernández, from the Center for Modernization of Catalonia. Subsequently, he could not find a coach who adapted to his methods and, as he saw that he was doing well, he continued on his own.

64. What advice does Kilian Jornet give to those who are starting the mountain race?

• Training: That he enjoys each day, each outing, that he does not think that he is training out of "obligation" to improve, but that he is enjoying it. In this way, progress will be enormous.
• Material: Don't leave anything untested on race day. Everything must be well tested to be sure that it adapts well to us, to our way of running and our morphology. It is also important that it is a specific material for the mountain, since this material is specially designed for a specific environment.
• Senses: Running in the mountains is not running: it is an experience of the 5 senses. Therefore, you have to see the landscapes, smell the earth, feel the wind. Don't forget to enjoy this!
• Descents: On the descents, you have to relax, lose your fear and push yourself forward; you have to pretend to be dancing!
• Progression: You can't go from 0 to 100 just by meaning to. You have to start short and not very technical and progress depending on what your body asks of you: listening to your body is my best advice.

65. When Kilian Jornet goes to the mountains, does he think about training?

If the weather is bad or he is tired, he trains, if the day is good he goes out to enjoy himself. He loves sports, the mountains and that is what he likes. There is no day when the conditions are good and I don't want to go out. There are always things to do.

66. What is Kilian Jornet's training routine?

Train twice a day, then do shorter sessions to recover.

67. If Kilian Jornet could only go to one mountain right now, which one would he go to?

Although it is difficult for him to choose just one, among those chosen would probably be Nepal, also the Pyrenees, Cerdagne, Capcir...

68. Is it possible for Kilian Jornet to pay attention to the mountains when he is racing?

He declares that during a race, obviously not. But of the 50 days you spend competing, there are almost 300 left to look around you.

69. Which does Kilian Jornet prefer, skiing or trail running?

He prefers not to choose one or the other. He likes the mountains, and takes advantage of the conditions that exist: in winter in the snow and with skis and in summer with shoes. You would not like to choose because they are very different but complementary.

70. What future does Kilian Jornet see for trail running?

“It's hard to tell right now, but it's really important that we keep up the spirit of the sport. It is clear that there will be more professionals, but the real need is to get more amateurs who really enjoy trail running. The spirit is more important than the championship”, says Kilian Jornet.

71. What are the differences between trail and ultra running in the mountains and those of U.S according to Kilian Jornet?

Although Kilian Jornet believes that there are fewer differences and more common passion for mountain sports, he declares that the mentality in Europe and in the United States is very different. In Europe, trail and ultra mountain runners are much more competitive and prepare a lot for all aspects of the competition, nutrition, their body, even shaving their legs if you are a cyclist.

72. What does Kilian Jornet think about the criticism that has been leveled at him for running without accessories or extra help?

“For me, climbing or running is looking for the animal that we carry inside. Physically, as animals we are bad: we don't have the strength or speed of other mammals, so we need at least slippers or some clothes. But I try to go as naked as possible; That makes me feel more integrated into nature and get closer to that animal that I am.says Kilian Jornet.

73. Is Kilian Jornet planning to run on asphalt?

He assures that he has thought about it, but that he would need at least six months to prepare it well and obtain good results. And you definitely don't want to spend six months away from the mountain.

74. What is the best race that Kilian Jornet remembers in ski mountaineering?

After thinking about it for a few moments, he affirms that he will probably keep his first victory in the world cup, in Valerett, as a senior, and the Pierra Menta the same year with Florent Trouillet.

75. Which are Kilian Jornet's most outstanding awards?

• Vertical Race World Champion (ski mountaineering) 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017
• Individual World Champion (ski mountaineering): 2011, 2015
• Winner of the Individual World Cup (ski mountaineering) : 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
• Winner of the Vertical Race World Cup (ski mountaineering): 2015, 2016
• Notable races: 1x - Winner Altitoy/1x - Winner Mezzalama/4x Winner of La Pierra Menta/ 5x Champion of Spain individual race and vertical race
• Extreme Skiing: Alps, Norway, Alaska
• Speed ​​Records: 2018 - Bob Graham Round
• 2017 - Double ascent to Everest in one week: FCT Everest 26h Base Camp - Summit and 17h Advanced Base Camp - Summit.
• 2014- Aconcagua
2014- Denali
• 2019 - Golden Trail Series Champion
• 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 – World Cup Champion

76. What other awards has Kilian Jornet won?

• National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2014, 2018
• Marca Leyenda Award 2014
• Human-Sports Achievement Award, Mundo Deportivo Gala 2014
• Silver Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit 2013

77. What is behind the impressive achievements of Kilian Jornet?

Kilian Jornet attributes his excellence to his 30 years of training, persistence, long daily training sessions. He claims that he has learned a lot about himself during this time and has had the opportunity to prepare his body for these challenges. "If you study about a subject for 30 years, you probably know a lot about it."

78. What are some of Kilian Jornet's tips for training and competing?

• Enjoy to improve: You have to enjoy every day and every outing. Do not think that you are training out of "obligation" or to improve, but because we are passionate about what we are doing.
• Equipment: Test all equipment before any competition. Everything must be well tested to be sure that it adapts well to us, to our way of running and our morphology. It is also important that it is a specific material for the mountain.
• Senses: Running in the mountains is not running: it is an experience of the 5 senses. Therefore, you have to see the landscapes, smell the earth, feel the wind. Don't forget to enjoy this!
• Progression and descents: On descents, you have to relax, lose your fear and push yourself forward; you have to pretend to be dancing!
• Security: Above all, we must remember that our sport is carried out in a natural environment that we do not control. That is why we must learn to know the mountain, and also the way we interact with it. We must always take all security measures, look at the weather forecast, not go to the mountains alone, trust specialists...

79. What are the next challenges for Kilian Jornet?

The athlete would like to continue testing himself in the Himalayas and add challenges and experiences there, also try something on asphalt and flat, to see how I feel, that would be a great challenge for him.

80. What is the secret of Kilian Jornet's success?

Since he started training, doing hours has always worked for him. Recovery was what he stood out for, chaining training sessions and assimilating them. In an hour you do nothing, you want to go to more places. At first she was a bit of a masochist, she liked to do long runs. Playing sports is a means of transportation.

81. Where does Kilian Jornet get the motivation to continue competing?

“The first time I won Zegama, in 2007, the adrenaline rush was brutal. He was younger and attached great importance to the result. Over time, that emotion is not the same, you do not feel that explosion of joy and the result does not contribute anything. Now the motivation to go to Zegama is to feel at home surrounded by an incredible environment. In addition, competing serves to check your fitness. If you do a good race it is that the training has gone well.says Kilian Jornet.

82. How did Kilian Jornet's Summits Of My Life come about?

Kilian Jornet's project begins like this: “When I started competing I had a list with all the races I wanted to win. The moment came when I realized that all those goals had already been accomplished, so I tried to find a new challenge, and that's where Summits of My Life came from. The project began in 2012 with Montblanc and ended in 2017 with Everest passing through peaks such as Aconcagua, Denali, Cervino, Elbrús.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

83. What goal is Kilian Jornet looking for with Summits Of My Life?

“The main objective of the project was to achieve a series of records in different mountains around the planet following the Fast & Light philosophy, without assistance and with the minimum necessary material. In addition, it was also a project of values, in which, in addition to these sporting objectives, I tried to investigate other things such as the search for happiness, humility, sacrifice and perseverance.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

84. What is “Summits of my life. Dreams and challenges in the mountains”, the book by Kilian Jornet?

Five years of efforts, personal struggles and feats summarized in a book written in the first person, with photographs and infographics that revive the dreams that have forged Kilian's personality. With success comes a period of reflection, and from the fog of records and the search for new illusions an image reappears with force: the poster that presided over his room as a teenager, the silhouette of an old desire: the Cervino mountain.

85. What is “Nothing is Impossible” by Kilian Jornet about?

Kilian Jornet has pushed his body to the limit, has suffered multiple injuries, has been exposed to great risks and has achieved records that have amazed the world. With apparent simplicity, he has achieved what seemed impossible. At the peak of his brilliant career towards elite sports, Kilian Jornet shares his accumulated experience in his most honest and vital book. "Nothing is impossible" is an incentive that encourages us to make our dreams come true, to run with passion and freedom and, above all, to enjoy the mountains.

86. What is Kilian Jornet's “The Invisible Frontier” about?

Three men and a mountain; three men and an impossible adventure. An expedition in the most untamed Nepal, the one with the furthest horizons and the most remote peaks, with unlikely climbs, intrepid descents, challenges, risks, dangers and life-or-death decisions. An expedition that is simultaneously an investigation, an escape and a reunion, where emotions multiply and feelings are lived to the surface; where words, silences and memories acquire new depths.

87. What is Kilian Jornet's “Run or Die” about?

Kiss the glory or die trying. Losing is dying, winning is feeling. The fight is what differentiates a victory, a winner.” Kilian Jornet is the current skyrunning world champion, one of the toughest physical tests on the planet. He has climbed up and down Kilimanjaro faster than anyone else in the world. He has struck down all the world records in every challenge he has set himself: the Ultra-Trail of Mont-Blanc, the Trans-Pyrenees, the tour of Lake Tahoe... Run or die is the diary of a winner, a philosophy of life, an exemplary lesson for all of us.

88. In addition to being an athlete, he also helps in the design of the ideal material for high mountain sports. What can Kilian Jornet say about the Skis both Salomon X-Alp and Minim skis?

The athlete says that they are very different from each other, the first is for racing, to go down fast and direct, and the other is designed to offer an easy ski in all mountain conditions... He talks about how incredible it is to see how close is the relationship between athletes and designers. Everything starts from scratch, from the idea of ​​testing many prototypes, to the final test.

89. What has been the most interesting food that Kilian Jornet has tried during his experiences in international races?

Depends on distance and temperature. In long distance races and hot conditions, take salt, water, fluids, also cheese and ham sandwiches, or pasta. When it's cold she drinks tea with cookies. Sometimes you don't pay too much attention to your nutrition.

90. What does Kilian Jornet find most fascinating about natural spaces?

No doubt: Its variety. He believes - and we agree with him - that it is surprising how different they can be between them. It is impossible to compare the highest point of Khumbu, in Nepal, with the rocky spires of Monument Valley in the United States, or with the fjords and mountain faces of Norway. These are all completely different areas, and they themselves change, they do not have the same shades in winter as in spring. The most fascinating thing about these spaces is how they change, how they adapt.

91. Why should we be aware of mountains according to Kilian Jornet?

Kilian Jornet considers that: “There are several sources of awareness. The first: the effects of climate change, which can be clearly seen in the glaciers, which are shrinking or even disappearing. This means that in the not so distant future there will be rock destabilization, the ecosystem will be transformed and with it, biodiversity. The second: pollution. There are many regions in the world, including mountainous regions where the water is polluted”

92. What did you see on the mountain that caused Kilian Jornet the most pain?

“When you go to base camp in the summer or fall, which is when everyone goes, you find trash everywhere. Also when you are climbing a mountain in the Pyrenees and you see kids in snowmobiles chasing chamois.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

93. Taking a plane to touch the world's mountains also creates emissions that contribute to climate change. How does Kilian Jornet manage this contradiction?

“Like any other contradiction” says Kilian Jornet. He also believes that a balance must be found. In recent years he has tried to reduce the number of trips and now he has decided not to travel more than whatever it is that generates three tons of carbon dioxide a year, which translates into making one international trip a year and one or two short ones.

94. Have you created the Kilian Jornet Foundation to preserve the environment in the mountains?

“I've been doing action on my own for years, either through associations or trying to raise awareness among my followers on social media. Perhaps it was the birth of my daughter that made me feel the urgency most strongly; I asked myself what would be the best way to use any influence I might have, and the most useful thing was to create a foundation.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

95. What is the goal of the Kilian Jornet Foundation?

“The main objective is the preservation of the mountains. I thought I could use my voice to launch a discussion about the environment and durability in the mountains. We work around many areas. One is the financing of research, since we must know what are the best means to fight climate change or to preserve biodiversity. The other is awareness raising to explain why we must preserve the environment in the mountains and how we can achieve it.”, affirms Kilian Jornet.

96. Is the lack of ice in the mountains another warning sign that we are ignoring?

The figures that Kilian Jornet gives are overwhelming: “About 40% of the glaciers have already been lost, we will no longer be able to recover them. But 60% can still be saved. I consider myself an optimist. We have to accept that we will have to sacrifice and fight to reverse the situation. My daughter's generation will be able to enjoy snow and glaciers in a different way, but they will be capable of it.

97. Does Kilian Jornet believe that people look above all for a life of comfort regardless of the impact it generates?

The athlete agrees that indeed, we want comfort, but he does not consider that taking a different way of life or transportation will be less comfortable. I don't think it's so much the comfort but the change of habit.

98. How has Kilian Jornet managed the confinement?

“In Norway we have not had any major problems regarding the virus. But the summer of 2020 was weird. I was trying to run on the floor, but I got injured and had to recover. But the good side of the restrictions was that in normal times we would have traveled more, and further, but this year, it has been a good time for me to explore my region, the Norwegian mountains.says Kilian Jornet.

99. Why did Kilian Jornet start long-distance road racing?

“No expedition has been possible in 2020, we have had to cancel everything. I tried to try anything different, train differently, learn different things and use what I could to apply it to other mountain activities.says Kilian Jornet.

100. What has been the impact of the pandemic on Kilian Jornet's routine?

“Travel hasn't bothered me at all. But the height yes. The time you spend alone in the mountains. On the other hand, it's been really cool to be home and run through the mountains that were all around me. When I travel I lose a lot of time in transportation, and now I have been able to train and be in the mountains every day.says Kilian Jornet.

For a person as interesting as Kilian Jornet, 100 questions are almost not enough... We hope, however, that you have enjoyed this shot of self-improvement, effort and motivation, and that you keep the most important thing of all: Yes you have a goal and you really want to achieve it, sooner or later, you will!