KILIAN Jornet, 33, is a professional athlete and lives in the Norwegian mountains near his training grounds.
Earlier in January, the daredevil stunned social media users as Kilian filmed himself running across the peak of Kyrkjetaket summit, using a GoPro camera.
The peak, which lies on the border of municipalities of Rauma and Nesset in Møre og Romsdal [western Norway] stands at 1,439 metres tall – and the view is both terrifying and breath-taking.
In the nail-biting stunt, Kilian can be seen galloping on the peak with ease despite the narrow path – thankfully, without his losing balance or faltering.
The mountaineer later uploaded the clip to Facebook, where it has so far racked up over 63,000 likes and 5,600 comments.
One person added: “Awesome! I'd lose my balance and be gone.”
“I'm not afraid of heights but this video gives me chills from watching it,” another person said.
Kilian actually scales the Kyrkjetaket summit frequently during winter – it's one of his favourite mountains.
"The Kyrkjetaket summit in Norway is one of my favourite mountains to train in winter,” Kilian said.
“I might go there around 50 times each winter, so I'm quite used to it!”
The 33-year-old grew up in a mountain hut and developed a passion for nature at an early age.
Kilian has always been interested in sports, including running and skiing, and began training seriously from the age of 13 to develop his athleticism.
At 19, he became a full-time athlete and used the mountains as his “playground."
Kilian has climbed Mount Everest twice in 2017 with no oxygen and in alpine-style - mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner carrying his own food and using his own shelter and equipment with no help.
Speaking of the experience, he said: “It was very dark because it was at night, so I didn't really enjoy it!
“I was there only for a few minutes and then started to go down.
"When you're in such altitude reaching the top is only 50 percent of the challenge, because descending is also very challenging, so you need to keep your energy for that.”
Kilian usually trains for about four to five months before leaving for an expedition – even though he makes extra preparations, does face unexpected challenges while climbing mountains.
“It depends on which kind of mountain you want to climb, but in any case, you need to prepare yourself because it's a mountain environment,” he said.
“You need to learn about weather forecasts, training for mountain terrain, learning to use the gear, etc.
“In my case, I've been training since I was a kid, so the base is built, and I only need to prepare certain aspects of it.
“I've had difficult moments and being scared in the mountains is very important, as it's a sign you need to be careful or even turn back.
“You must never lose this respect for the mountains, as it's the best sign that you are ready to assume the failure.” – Reuters, September 9, 2021
