Kilian Jornet has completed one of the most ambitious human-powered mountain projects in modern history, summiting all 72 accessible 14,000-foot peaks in the contiguous United States under his own power.
The 36-year-old Spaniard reached the top of Mount Rainier on October 4, bringing to a close his States of Elevation project, a 31-day odyssey linking the highest summits of Colorado, California, and Washington entirely by foot and bike.
Beginning on September 3 with a climb of Longs Peak in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, Jornet set out to connect every “fourteener” in the Lower 48.
Over the next month, he would cover more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), climbing 72 peaks and gaining over 250,000 vertical feet, the equivalent of ascending Mount Everest more than eight times.
In Colorado, he climbed 56 peaks in just 16 days, linking them on foot and by bike across some of the state’s most rugged terrain. Jornet covered around 1,200 miles with 255,000 feet of elevation gain, averaging roughly 75 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing per day while sleeping just four and a half hours a night.
Jornet then pedaled 900 miles west to California, where he took on the Sierra Nevada’s Norman’s 13 traverse, a 100-mile linkup of all the state’s 14,000-foot peaks. Jornet not only completed the traverse, but lowered the existing fastest known time by 18 hours.
After summiting Mount Shasta on September 30, he set off on a 500-mile ride north to Washington, where he finished the project on Mount Rainier, the most glaciated peak in the continental United States.
Throughout the expedition, Jornet was joined intermittently by journalist Andy Cochrane, who chronicled the journey for The Guardian.
Cochrane described early mornings on icy granite in Colorado’s Front Range, where Jornet and his partner Kyle Richardson climbed technical routes with “casual precision,” chatting as they crossed thousand-foot faces.
For Jornet, this project wasn’t about speed or records, but about aesthetic movement through wild places. He called it “the most aesthetic line”, meaning not the quickest, but the most meaningful route — one that connected ranges and ridges in their purest form.
“If I wasn’t a famous athlete, I would still have done the route,” Jornet told Cochrane. “It’s about being in these places, seeing the wild landscapes, and remembering why we protect them.”
From the alpine granite of Colorado to the volcanic glaciers of the Cascades, Jornet’s path traced some of America’s last truly wild ecosystems. He encountered moose, bears, elk, and coyotes, a level of biodiversity he noted is largely absent in his native Pyrenees. “It’s a reminder to stay grateful for the wild places we still have,” he said.
The States of Elevation project follows Jornet’s 2024 Alps linkup, when he climbed all 82 of the range’s 4,000-meter summits in 19 days, and his earlier Summits of My Life series, which included record ascents of Everest, Denali, and Aconcagua. But while those expeditions chased speed, this one reflected a different phase of his career, more contemplative than competitive.
Despite the scale of the effort, Jornet remained understated at the finish. After 31 days, 3,100 miles, and 72 summits, his only comment on the final climb was brief: “I would do it again.”
For an athlete who has spent two decades redefining human limits, States of Elevation wasn’t just an endurance record. It was a tribute to the landscapes that shaped him, and a quiet reminder that exploration still has room for humility.
Fabulous article describing an unbelievable effort by Jornet. I think the last line about exploration and humility really captured the endeavour.