SpeedWalker Sets Weminuche Wipeout FKT

[bdloftin77]

Early this morning, Alex Walker (SpeedWalker) earned the FKT for the Weminuche Wipeout route! This route connects the Weminuche Centennials from Purgatory to Rio Grande Reservoir and includes Pigeon, Turret, North Eolus, Eolus, Jupiter, Windom, Sunlight, Jagged, Trinity, Vestal, Arrow, and Rio Grande Pyramid.

On 7/10/21, Andrew Hamilton made the previous FKT at 73 hours and 7 minutes (3d 1h 7m) en route to his Centennial FKT linkup. He added Trinity as well as the next two peaks below the former Centennial list since the Decalibron was closed, but Arrow wasn't on the radar. Andrew went with limited support (supported only 3k' below any peaks), and from east to west. The distance and elevation gain were estimated to be 70 miles and 30k ft of gain (unit error on the FKT site).

Alex took a shot at the record from west to east. He'd originally planned on having support (food and a night of rest) below Jagged. But with the weather window appearing on short notice, no one was available to provide support. He decided to give it a go anyways, unsupported, and with no sleep break. Starting at ~5:01am from Purgatory, he got Pigeon, Turret, and the Chi Basin peaks in the daylight. It was approaching midnight when he neared Jagged, but decided to give it a go anyways. Free solo style. After 20 hours and 17,000' of hiking. He continued on to Trinity, Vestal, and Arrow. Then the long trek toward Rio Grande Pyramid and down to the reservoir, mile after endless dark mile with dead GPS batteries, no food, and a dim headlamp to conserve power. He finally arrived at the Rio Grande Reservoir trailhead at ~1:33am, able to send out a finish message only after charging his GPS for 5 minutes at 1:38. His total time was 44 hours 32 minutes and 5 seconds (1d 20h 32m 5s). Truly incredible.

He was able to save a little distance and gain vs Hamilton's variation by linking Pigeon/Turret > Chi Basin > Jagged vs Hamilton's Jagged > Pigeon/Turret > Chi Basin (see map and how Pigeon/Turret is almost an out an back with Hamilton's route), estimating his distance and gain to be 63 miles and 29k feet.

Check out his garmin link below and select View All Tracks to see the trek.
https://share.garmin.com/AlexWalker

[14erFred]

Such an awesome solo adventure accomplished with blazing speed! Congratulations, Alex!

[Skimo95]

Yeah, Alex is the man. Hats off buddy, well done once again

[davevanwicklin]

Love everything about this effort! Soooo impressive!

[seannunn]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised but it never ceases to amaze me the skill sets and endurance abilities of the great ones out there.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[wmagnuson7]

Congratulations Alex, incredibly impressive!

[two lunches]

amazing accomplishment alex!!

[SpeedWalker]

Thanks everyone!
For anyone interested, the FKT has been accepted onto the site here: https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/alex-w ... 2026-08-03
You can see my detailed route on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/19582191962
I'll also hopefully have a full 14ers.com trip report posted in the next week or two.

[JerJerBinks]

Damn! I can't even think that fast. Congrats! I'm sure it was a hard push.

[smrcka]

Beyond my comprehension…. Took me several years to get those peaks. Congratulations!