A biography of Kilian Jornet

A biography of Kilian Jornet

Read a biography of mountain runner Kilian Jornet, who climbed Everest in a day, to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

When you picture mountain climbers scaling Mount Everest, what probably comes to mind are teams of climbers with Sherpa guides leading them to the summit, equipped with oxygen masks, supplies and tents. And in most cases you'd be right, as 97 per cent of climbers use oxygen to ascend to Everest's summit at 8,850 metres above sea level. The thin air at high altitudes makes most people breathless at 3,500 metres, and the vast majority of climbers use oxygen past 7,000 metres. A typical climbing group will have 8–15 people in it, with an almost equal number of guides, and they'll spend weeks to get to the top after reaching Base Camp.

But ultra-distance and mountain runner Kilian Jornet Burgada ascended the mountain in May 2017 alone, without an oxygen mask or fixed ropes for climbing.

Oh, and he did it in 26 hours.

With food poisoning.

And then, five days later, he did it again, this time in only 17 hours.

Born in 1987, Kilian has been training for Everest his whole life. And that really does mean his whole life, as he grew up 2,000 metres above sea level in the Pyrenees in the ski resort of Lles de Cerdanya in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain. While other children his age were learning to walk, Kilian was on skis. At one and a half years old he did a five-hour hike with his mother, entirely under his own steam. He left his peers even further behind when he climbed his first mountain and competed in his first cross-country ski race at age three. By age seven, he had scaled a 4,000er and, at ten, he did a 42-day crossing of the Pyrenees.

He was 13 when he says he started to take it 'seriously' and trained with the Ski Mountaineering Technical Centre (CTEMC) in Catalonia, entering competitions and working with a coach. At 18, he took over his own ski-mountaineering and trail-running training, with a schedule that only allows a couple of weeks of rest a year. He does as many as 1,140 hours of endurance training a year, plus strength training and technical workouts as well as specific training in the week before a race. For his record-breaking ascent and descent of the Matterhorn, he prepared by climbing the mountain ten times until he knew every detail of it, even including where the sun would be shining at every part of the day.

Sleeping only seven hours a night, Kilian Jornet seems almost superhuman. His resting heartbeat is extremely low at 33 beats per minute, compared with the average man's 60 per minute or an athlete's 40 per minute. He breathes more efficiently than average people too, taking in more oxygen per breath, and he has a much faster recovery time after exercise as his body quickly breaks down lactic acid – the acid in muscles that causes pain after exercise.

All this is thanks to his childhood in the mountains and to genetics, but it is his mental strength that sets him apart. He often sets himself challenges to see how long he can endure difficult conditions in order to truly understand what his body and mind can cope with. For example, he almost gave himself kidney failure after only drinking 3.5 litres of water on a 100km run in temperatures of around 40°C.

It would take a book to list all the races and awards he's won and the mountains he's climbed. And even here, Kilian’s achievements exceed the average person as, somehow, he finds time to record his career on his blog and has written three books, Run or Die, The Invisible Border and Summits of My Life.

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

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Submitted by deny. on Mon, 09/12/2024 - 14:08

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As much as i am.not. an athletic person, i think i'd train for challenges involving hiking or volleyball. The first one i would do that as it would be easier for me to walk for miles on end and at my own pace. As for the second one i love the dynamics and  techniques  that these teams create during matches. I know these sound like contradictions but these are the two things i'd train for.

Submitted by remyy on Mon, 18/11/2024 - 15:30

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Honestly, I don’t like physical activities. They seem to be more of a hassle to me but if I were forced to pick a sport for a day, I would choose badminton. 

Submitted by Kareem_eldesouki on Sat, 09/11/2024 - 09:45

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I like cardio exercises because they improve your heart health. Doctors advise doing exercises that can raise your heart rate for at least 30 minutes per day; that primarily helps reduce your chance of having a heart attack. You can do skipping rope, jogging, trail running and some bodyweight training.

Personally I prefer skipping rope because it is easy to play anytime, anywhere. It is a thorough exercise, where you can simultaneously engage different muscles in the training; this includes core muscles (the most important for me), shoulders, and legs. Also, somehow your breathing and mental agility become better. 

In addition, we can incorporate other simple yet efficient workouts that solely rely on your weight. For instance, with pull-ups you can focus on your back, shoulder and arm. Similarly are push-ups, despite activating almost the same muscle groups, push-ups stimulate pushing muscle, such as the chest. Nevertheless, pull-ups are believed to strengthen your endurance effectively, while maintaining your body in shape.

In conclusion, it is essential to keep a daily fitness routine to enhance your overall health and avoid aging diseases. Among a variety of physical training, cardio vascular training improves longevity as well as physical elasticity. I recommend jumping rope and other natural movement exercises.

Submitted by Anker on Wed, 06/11/2024 - 04:11

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"When you have a fragile spine, you’ll want to grow more muscle to support and protect it. The beauty of exercise is that you can experience both the pain and the gains almost at the same time. One aspect strengthens you mentally, while the other makes you physically stronger."

Submitted by Toibikhung on Wed, 16/10/2024 - 16:18

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If someone asked me which sport I would like to take seriously, I would say badminton. I'm over the moon when I can receive a shuttlecock at high speed or make a beautiful shot! Additionally, I would like to improve my ability to direct the shuttlecock more precisely, as it always diverts from the direction I want it to go.  

Submitted by moynul on Wed, 17/07/2024 - 16:15

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It is generally known that hobby and compassion gives mental energy to do troublesome and time worthy works that can be achieved through regular practice. There is an oriental proverb which tells human body has elasticity of taking physical pressure of endurance through continuous adjustment. Though congenial environment helps people to do it easily.

Submitted by SuchitraNoo on Mon, 24/06/2024 - 05:42

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I love a rock climbing, so I would like to train about climbing such as strength, mental, technical etc. However I am not a young, training makes me injury sometimes. I have just climbed for relax and enjoying today 😊.

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Submitted by COUTCHER on Sun, 28/04/2024 - 15:46

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if i were given the opportunity to participate in a physical challenge, i would go for running. i always love to challenge myself and when it comes to running , i still have a lot to do in order to improve my performance.

Submitted by Mostafa7050 on Fri, 15/03/2024 - 00:56

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discipline and commitment is the way to do any great achievement