Kilian Jornet

I was right on track with my feeling yesterday: The Spanish climber Kilian Jornet gives up due to the snow masses on Everest. The 28-year-old announces that he will return from the highest mountain on earth without having climbed it. Bad weather conditions forced him to abandon his plan to speed climb Everest via the North Face, says Jornet: “During the first few weeks we were acclimatising well and the conditions were good. However, when we were getting ready to prepare the attempt the weather began to change. There were some heavy snow storms and a large accumulation of snow. As a result, although we were in good physical shape, there was a high risk of avalanches and in the absence of good safety conditions it was impossible to climb.”  

„We would change some things“

Snowy Everest North Face

Jornet says, though “there’s a sense of frustration because we’re well acclimatized and we feel good“, he is satisfied with his experience on Everest: “Being alone on Everest is incredible as there was no one else there. Now we’ll go home to recover and plan the future. I think that if we come back, there are some things we would change, but it’s been a great experience and a good lesson for next time.” Jornet has spent three weeks at Base Camp acclimatizing and preparing his climb. As reported, Kilian wanted to speed climb Everest: in a single push from the Rongbuk monastery to the summit, without bottled oxygen and Sherpa support. Now only the 34-year-old Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki is left on Everest who has announced an attempt to climb through the North Face, solo and without breathing mask.