What Kilian Jornet Packs to Climb Every 14er in the Mountain West in 31 days

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When it comes to sheer carnal capabilities, Kilian Jornet is arsenic acold supra different world-class way runners and upland climbers arsenic they are supra us. This fall, the Spanish skyrunner completed his States of Elevation project, which The New York Times called “objectively absurd.” His wholly self-powered ngo connected each the 14,000-foot peaks successful the Mountain West. He reached 72 summits, covered 629 miles connected foot, and biked an further 2,568 miles portion amassing 403,691 feet of elevation gain, each successful 31 days. Was it adjacent hard for him? No. Ugh.

We spoke to Jornet aft helium returned to Norway from States of Elevation, getting to walk clip astatine location with his wife, the world-champion skyrunner Emelie Forsberg, and their 3 children. Forsberg besides joined the squad astatine Nnormal, the cogwheel institution that Jornet co-founded with the footwear institution Camper. The sanction combines the words “Norway” and “Mallorca”—the 2 places wherever the shoes were designed and tested.

“I effort to person a minimalist approach, but arsenic humans, we're not made to spell into utmost environments,” said Jornet implicit Zoom. “If I spell naked, I would astir apt dice beauteous soon, oregon if I spell running, my feet volition get beauteous bruised if I'm not wearing shoes.”

Here are immoderate of the cogwheel picks that Jornet took with him.

The Running Shoes

Nnormal's purpose is to institute sustainable practices into manufacturing gear. “Probably the astir important strategy is the astir complicated,” Jornet said. “It's precise costly to beryllium perpetually rotating things … however tin we person [a company] that's not based connected overconsumption?” The solution was to make incredibly durable moving shoes that lone person to beryllium swapped retired each 2 to 4 years. For the thousands of miles that helium covered for States of Elevation, Jornet lone swapped betwixt 2 pairs of Nnormal shoes. (For context, the mean runner disposes of shoes aft 300-500 miles.)

The Tomir is the waterproof, winter-ready mentation of the Kjerag, which is the footwear that Jornet took with him. It has hardy, but inactive light, Vibram lugs and an outsole; an abrasion-resistant precocious with asymmetrical lacing that you tin tinker with to relieve unit connected the apical of your foot; and a specialized trail-running midsole. He besides brings a Nnormal way moving overgarment ($220) everyplace helium goes.

The Watch

Many fittingness trackers nexus to your telephone for navigation capabilities. However, erstwhile you're covering arsenic overmuch crushed arsenic Jornet is, that's not a large idea. “The phone's artillery volition dice instantly,” Jornet said. Instead, Jornet uses his Coros Apex 4 ($429) for everything from keeping successful interaction with people, collecting information connected each his runs, navigating with GPS to support from falling into a crevasse, and noting however helium feels each day.

The Coros Apex 4 is the company's lightweight upland watch. It has astir 65 hours of artillery with GPS tracking—more than capable for Jornet to tally up and down a mountain—with dual-frequency GPS and a fig of climbing-specific features, similar vertical algorithms for ascents. “I'm not obsessed with data, but it helps maine to analyse each task and each race, and to enactment safe," Jornet said.

The Supplements

Ultrarunners person precise circumstantial nutritional needs, which tin beryllium a hard request to conscionable if you walk a batch of clip successful distant locations each implicit the world. Jornet has been tracking information connected his gut microbiome for astir 5 years, moving with universities and large probe institutions to cheque connected factors similar however his microbiota alteration erstwhile he's astatine altitude. “We spot antithetic pieces increasing and dying,” helium said. “And yes, I was carrying bags of poop with maine [during States of Elevation]," helium laughed.

When helium tin find it, Jornet nurtures his gut microbiome with lactobacillus, which has been recovered to boost athletics show by expanding endurance and reducing soreness. You tin find lactobacillus successful galore unpasteurized fermented foods, similar yogurt oregon kimchi. However, erstwhile he's traveling, Jornet takes doses of these Lyvecap probiotics. Jornet is specified a instrumentality that helium noted that helium ne'er adjacent drinks filtered h2o successful the backcountry. “If you person a bully immune strategy and bully bacteria successful your stomach, I person ne'er had problems,” helium said. This is not a signifier that I tin endorse for everyone.

The Flask

Jornet burned astir 9,000 calories per time during States of Elevation. If you're trying to devour that galore calories arsenic food, that's aggregate steaks oregon chickens that he'd person to battalion with him. “If I'm conscionable taking gels oregon carbs, I volition not beryllium capable to devour that much,” helium said. “It's conscionable excessively heavy.” To battalion successful much calories connected the go, helium adds a mates glugs of olive oil, butter, oregon coconut lipid to his brushed Maurten portion flask.

The Notebook

Finally, Jornet ever has a insubstantial notebook with him. He doesn't person a preferred brand—"I conscionable spell into a section bookstore and bargain immoderate notebook is there," helium said—but helium does similar to instrumentality notes arsenic he's traveling along. Sometimes helium draws maps and sketches of the state that he's passing through; notes down amusive encounters that he's had; takes notes connected the cogwheel that he's using; oregon jots down ideas for aboriginal projects to ski, run, oregon climb.

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