Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

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Jeff Valliere
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Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by Jeff Valliere »

Killian Jornet and Emily Forsberg were rescued from the Aguille du Midi on Saturday, cold, but unharmed:

http://iancorless.org/2013/09/08/kilian ... ont-blanc/
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dehrlich101
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by dehrlich101 »

Emelie's account of what happened.

http://emelieforsberg.com/being-rescued/
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djkest
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by djkest »

Glad they are OK. Smells like controversy.
The woman who accompanied him (Emelie Forsberg) was dressed
lightly. The issue in the world of mountaineering is: when are
tights and sneakers appropriate on the North Face of Mont Blanc?
They have been warned repeatedly. Jean-Louis Verdier (guide and
assistant in charge of security in the mountains, Chamonix) stated
that, “mountain practice must be undertaken with adequate equipment
so that you can face bad weather. I’m very angry when I see the
continued rise of sneakers despite our requests”. Guides are
repeatedly angry as they meet more and more trailers in sneakers as
they follow Kilian Jornet in the examples he gives on the route of
Mont Blanc
.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by ezabielski »

djkest wrote:Glad they are OK. Smells like controversy.
The woman who accompanied him (Emelie Forsberg) was dressed
lightly. The issue in the world of mountaineering is: when are
tights and sneakers appropriate on the North Face of Mont Blanc?
They have been warned repeatedly. Jean-Louis Verdier (guide and
assistant in charge of security in the mountains, Chamonix) stated
that, “mountain practice must be undertaken with adequate equipment
so that you can face bad weather. I’m very angry when I see the
continued rise of sneakers despite our requests”. Guides are
repeatedly angry as they meet more and more trailers in sneakers as
they follow Kilian Jornet in the examples he gives on the route of
Mont Blanc
.
I would grant Killian Jornet a lot more leeway on his gear selection than other people, considering what he has achieved on mountains so far. He has the FKT on the Matterhorn, Killimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and even Sanitas. He used to have the fastest ascent on Elbert, but I think Anton Krupicka beat that, not sure about round trip times. Let's not even get into how many races he has won.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by bonehead »

ezabielski wrote:I would grant Killian Jornet a lot more leeway on his gear selection than other people
Mountain Rescue put their lives at risk.
I don't think they would agree with you.
Even Mountain Gods f**k up.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by ezabielski »

bonehead wrote:
ezabielski wrote:I would grant Killian Jornet a lot more leeway on his gear selection than other people
Mountain Rescue put their lives at risk.
I don't think they would agree with you.
Even Mountain Gods f**k up.
My point is that Killian does this willfully. Let's assume that Killian is aware of objective risk in the mountains (even if you think he forgot that for this day). Then he is categorically different than the people who show up in running shoes and try to do the same thing out of ignorance. It's about acceptable level of risk to him, not an ignorance of mountain conditions.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by Jeff Valliere »

This particular incident certainly highlights the potential risks of going fast and light, a topic which can be very polarizing.

I'll not judge too harshly though, as I have my own version of fast and light and realize that it is a calculated risk (though on a much lower level than Killian/Emily). Many of us have made miscalculations and mistakes that we have regretted and hopefully learned from.

Glad they made it out without any damage to themselves or their rescuers.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by Tory Wells »

If you haven't seen the video of his record run on the Matterhorn, check it out. He carries only a jacket, which someone hands to him up high. No water, no nothin'. ezabielski is right, you have to go super-light to set these FKT's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDV1j0SZMZI

The real problem is the unprepared people who try to emulate his style and aren't fast enough, strong enough, or experienced enough to handle that style. As far as his own risk is concerned, I'm sure his definition of acceptable risk is pretty high and this incident won't change a whole lot for him, beyond simply trying real hard to make sure he doesn't repeat it.
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by Jeff Valliere »

I was surprised Killian even had the jacket for his Matterhorn record climb to be honest. While Killian was training on the route, mountain rescue and guides took note of what he was trying to do, were enthusiastic and offered to station themselves at key points along the route on the day of the attempt, just in case anything happened. In that regard, he was definitely not alone.

In multiple interviews that I have read/listened to, he fully acknowledged that even the slightest mistakes could easily be fatal and that is a risk that he accepts in order to live his life to the fullest. Though I admit to taking a bit more (much more) of a conservative approach to risk, especially now that I am a father, I fully understand and support what he is trying to do.

I do however sometimes worry about those who are a not as skilled, knowledgeable (especially about the risks), heading up to the mountains to emulate their heroes, whether it be Killian, Anton, Honnold, Potter or whomever it may be. These people are extremely gifted, experienced, knowledgeable and passionate about what they do, but no matter how good you are, nobody is immune to the potential dangers out there (well geared or not).
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by Cruiser »

Gotta love Emelie's blog post about the rescue. Light and fast! =D>
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by tlongpine »

bonehead wrote:
ezabielski wrote:I would grant Killian Jornet a lot more leeway on his gear selection than other people
Mountain Rescue put their lives at risk.
I don't think they would agree with you.
+1
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Re: Killian Jornet rescued from Aguille du Midi

Post by SarahT »

Having just finished a week of climbing in the Alps myself the general attitude of climbers regarding self-sufficiency and mountain rescue is fresh in my mind. Its not just the elite that go fast and light and rely on mountain rescue to save their butts when things go slightly wrong. This seems to be the norm and widely accepted. Everyone has tiny packs and you wonder how the heck they fit everything they need in them... then you chat with them and quickly realize they rely very heavily on the amazing mountain rescue infrastructure thats in place. Its a whole different culture. There seems to be little concept of "putting the rescuers at risk"; that's what they're there for. Right or wrong, this difference really stood out to me.
Last edited by SarahT on Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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