Spanish climber sets new Matterhorn record
A Catalan climber set a new record on Wednesday for the fastest ascent and descent of the Matterhorn, with a back-to-back time of just two hours 52 minutes.
Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that Kilian Jornet Burgada had shaved 22 minutes off the previous record set in 1995 by Italian Bruno Brunod.
Jornet left the village church in Cervinia, which lies at an altitude of 2,050 metres (6,726 feet), at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Wednesday.
He took two hours to scale the 4,478-metre (14,692-foot) Matterhorn peak, and less than an hour to return to his point of departure, arriving at 5:52 pm (1552 GMT).
The 26-year-old Catalan is a multiple world and European champion in the tough disciplines of ski mountaineering and mountain running.
The Matterhorn is one of the deadliest peaks in Europe.
Four men members of the first party to climb it fell to their deaths and a total of 500 climbers died on the mountain between 1865 and 1995.
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Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that Kilian Jornet Burgada had shaved 22 minutes off the previous record set in 1995 by Italian Bruno Brunod.
Jornet left the village church in Cervinia, which lies at an altitude of 2,050 metres (6,726 feet), at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) Wednesday.
He took two hours to scale the 4,478-metre (14,692-foot) Matterhorn peak, and less than an hour to return to his point of departure, arriving at 5:52 pm (1552 GMT).
The 26-year-old Catalan is a multiple world and European champion in the tough disciplines of ski mountaineering and mountain running.
The Matterhorn is one of the deadliest peaks in Europe.
Four men members of the first party to climb it fell to their deaths and a total of 500 climbers died on the mountain between 1865 and 1995.
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