Uber athlete Kilian Jornet nears end of odyssey climbing all 14ers in western U.S.

Kilian Jornet’s epic human-powered odyssey to link fourteeners in Colorado, California and Washington has moved into the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest for its final ascents.

Having finished the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado and California’s Sierra Range — including Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48 states at 14,500 feet — the next stop for the renowned Spanish endurance athlete is Mount Shasta in northern California, near the Oregon border. His “States of Elevation” quest will finish on Washington’s Mount Rainier.

Jornet began the trip on Sept. 3 with an ascent of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. He climbed 56 Colorado fourteener summits in 16 days, traveling between peaks by foot or bicycle. According to a news release sent by his public relations team, he covered 1,207 miles in Colorado, 738 on bike and 469 on foot, with 256,000 feet of climbing. He averaged four and a half hours of sleep per night.

“The mountains are stunning, and the wilderness is truly special,” Jornet said of Colorado in a statement for the news release. “During the first two weeks, the weather was really tough, which added an extra layer of challenge. The first week I felt terrible — probably because of the jet lag and the altitude — but then I started to feel better and better, even if the weather kept being difficult.

“In those first two weeks, we only had three days of sun, which made things harder,” he added. “Colorado, it’s the biggest section of the project, with the most summits and some of the hardest navigation, so it was very exciting.”

His route in Colorado included:

• The so-called “LA Freeway,” a highly technical 35-mile segment on the Continental Divide from Longs Peak south to the Arapaho Peaks, 12 miles northwest of Nederland
• “The Elk Traverse,” another extremely technical section that included seven fourteeners in the Aspen area, including the Maroon Bells
• “Nolan’s 14,” a traverse linking 14 fourteeners in the Sawatch Range from Mount Massive near Leadville to Mount Shavano
• The Crestone Group, consisting of four fourteeners in the Sangre de Cristo Range
• Thirteen peaks in the San Juan Range, including Uncompahgre and Mount Sneffels

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