When you think of Kilian Jornet, you usually think of unrelentingly steep climbs dispersed between running along lofty and technical ridges in the Chamonix Valley. The guy is most famous for his astonishing fitness – he scored a 92.0 on the V02 max test – the 6th highest recorded in the world.
“Fiva Route boasts an average angle of 60 degrees”
What you may not know is that Kilian has been quietly working on his steep skiing game over the past few years. After spending time living in Chamonix, Kilian got to know the likes of Vivian Bruchez and Alex Pittin – some of the best steep skiers in the world (as you do in Chamonix). Taking all of his experience from his ultra marathon and ski mountaineering background, he soon took on the likes of Vivian as a mentor, to aid him in making some seriously technical descents.
Troll wall is the highest vertical face in Europe and home to some of the best climbing in the world (naturally, with a wall this size). Tucked away in a corner of Troll Wall stands the iconic Fiva Route, boasting an average angle of 60 degrees. The Fiva Route has previously never been skied before. Along comes Kilian.
“The film shows some sweaty-palm action that really does blur the line between skiing and mountaineering”
The likelihood of skiing a line as steep as the Fiva was first considered after Killian drove up from Chamonix to Norway. Kilian soon made sure he was frequently climbing the Fiva to make sure he found the near-perfect conditions you need to make this technical descent possible.
The film shows some sweaty-palm action that really does blur the line between skiing and mountaineering. Expect to see Killian navigating his way down this steep face, whilst his skis try as best as possible to bite into the icy slope, all as Kilian hangs off his ice axes.
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