{"id":172305,"date":"2025-10-01T07:46:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T07:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/172305\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T07:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T07:46:07","slug":"kilian-storms-through-california-bags-fkt-on-normans-13-explorersweb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/172305\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilian Storms Through California, Bags FKT on Norman’s 13 \u00bb Explorersweb"},"content":{"rendered":"

After linking all 56 of Colorado\u2019s 14,000-foot peaks in 16 days, Kilian Jornet is keeping the same incredible pace in California. This includes a new FKT on the so-called Norman\u2019s 13 \u2014 the 13 14,000-foot summits in the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n

Jornet\u2019s<\/a> performance data on the accessible 14\u2019ers in Colorado are simply mind-blowing: 16 days. 56 peaks. 78,004m climbed. Every day linked by 74-80km on the bike, a marathon on foot, and nearly 5,000m of vertical.<\/p>\n

\"Jornet<\/p>\n

Kilian Jornet in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada. Photo: @nickmdanielson \/ @andrewfitts<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then he hopped on a bike and cycled 1,500km across the southwestern deserts to California.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [cycling] wasn\u2019t just a transition, but an adventure in its own right,\u201d Jornet\u2019s team wrote. \u201cThe route twisted through Colorado\u2019s high canyons, passed briefly through New Mexico, brushed the red rocks of Arizona, and stretched into the endless Mojave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jornet pedaled non-stop for five days, covering an average of 282km per day and chaining 11, 12, or even 15 hours of cycling in variable weather, from high winds and rain to 38\u00b0C temperatures.<\/p>\n

Finally, the desert gave way to the Sierra Nevada. Then the Spanish athlete took up the California part of his States of Elevation. The project aims to cover all the 14,000-foot mountains in the Lower 48, cycling and hiking between them.<\/p>\n

Norman\u2019s 13 FKT<\/p>\n

Norman\u2019s 13 is the Sierra Nevada\u2019s version of Colorado\u2019s Nolan\u2019s 14 (which Jornet completed on the previous stage). Its 13 summits comprise two clusters linked by a stretch of the wild John Muir Trail, and a whole lot of granite, weather, and wilderness.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoughly 100 miles (160km), nearly 39,000 vertical feet (12,000m), and scrambling on ridges where every move counts,\u201d his team wrote.<\/p>\n

Once again, local running pros accompanied Jornet, including Norman\u2019s 13 FKT holders Matt Zupan and Olivia Amber and Piolet d\u2019Or winner Matt Cornell. During those three days in California\u2019s most rugged mountains, the weather was not friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cConditions started great, but turned challenging: snowstorms hit right as we reached the technical sections, making things a bit spicy,\u201d he said. \u201cI crushed my foot with a boulder. I could sometimes ignore the pain for a few hours and forget about it, but it came back. And sleep deprivation hit hard this morning as we were going up Mount Sill, but thankfully, the sunrise brought new energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Jornet completed the 163km of Norman\u2019s 13 in 56:11:04. The team believes it\u2019s a new FKT, pending official confirmation.<\/p>\n

Bishop break<\/p>\n

At the end of the stage in the town of Bishop, Jornet did something unusual: rest. Real rest, with a shower, a pizza, and a hotel bed.<\/p>\n

By Saturday morning, Jornet was again on the run to the top of White Mountain, the 70th 14,000\u2019er on his list. That leaves just 2 to go.<\/p>\n

\"Jornet's<\/p>\n

Jornet\u2019s stats after White Mountain. Photo: Jornet\u2019s team<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The scene now shifts to Northern California and his last peak in that state, Mount Shasta. Jornet then cycles to Mount Rainier, also in the Cascade Range, to complete his project, likely later this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After linking all 56 of Colorado\u2019s 14,000-foot peaks in 16 days, Kilian Jornet is keeping the same incredible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,77301,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-172305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-speed-and-fkts","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}