When Kilian Jornet goes to the mountains on a personal project you can be sure the results will be interesting. The mountain athlete does not disappoint. He's just returned from Denali, 6,194 m, the highest mountain in North America and sure enough, he's come back with a record – and an epic story to tell. Avoiding the more popular West Rib route, Jornet headed up Rescue Gully on skis in his usual super fast style. By the time he returned exactly 11h and 48m later he'd smashed the record for the mountain's fastest ascent – by over five hours. The round trip involves an elevation gain of over 4,700 m and a distance of over 53 km. What makes the ascent even more noteworthy is that conditions were bad for much of the ascent. Out of 16 days on the mountain, only three were good while blizzards, fog and low temperatures were the norm. When Kilian set off on the summit bid, the thermometer was at -20ºC and the wind was gusting 40km/h. “It has been a great adventure,” Kilian says. “Weather conditions were bad during much of the route. Yet, I managed to break the record, so I'm very satisfied. I took a different route rather than the usual one to avoid a stretch with fixed ropes because I wanted to stick to the values underlying the project – that is, attempting the record using as little equipment as possible, and without help.” “I had to face two tough factors,” he adds. “On the one hand, the cold and the wind, which slowed me down throughout the route. On the other hand, the altitude, which affected me substantially from 5,000m.” The summit was a special moment, he says, but not because of the view. “There was fog and I couldn't see a thing! But I thought ‘now my legs will finally stop hurting’!” Denali, which is also known as McKinley, is one of the most forbidding peaks in the world. Although not as high as the Himalayan mountains, the Alaskan peak is notorious for its cold and brutal weather thanks to its proximity to the Arctic Circle. And with 4,000m of difference from base to summit, it features more vertical ascent than most mountains. Measured by topographic prominence it's the world's third most prominent peak after Everest and Aconcagua. Image © Summits of My Life

Where does a journey begin and end? Off the grid in Patagonia the stakes are high. Consequence and weather are constant travel companions on the way to sending La Vuelta de los Condores (5.11 A2). Watch as Arc’teryx Athletes Will Stanhope, Paul McSorley, and Marc-Andre Leclerc, along with Matt van Beine, set off to climb in the remote reaches of northern Patagonia.

Maybe you fancy your chances against the world's best, or perhaps you'd just like to follow in his footsteps. Now's your chance. Here, we reveal Kilian Jornet's action-packed summer calendar. Catch him if you can... The trail running season got off to an exciting start for the Suunto ambassador – second place at Transvulcania and a new record at Zegama. But from late May he focuses on his personal project Summits of My Life LINK and will journey to Alaska to attempt Mt McKinley (Denali). A few weeks there and Kilian be back in Europe in time for the Sky Running World Championships in late June in Chamonix, France. Kilian intends to participate in the vertical kilometer (VK) and in the marathon: “I guess I'll be a bit tired after McKinley, but I hope to be in good shape to run both races, as I am very familiar with the routes,” he says. One of the most eagerly-awaited events will then take place in July. After three years trying for a place, Jornet has finally got into the 160km Hardrock 100, America's toughest ultra and one so popular that entry – even for elite athletes – is via a strict draw. “Finally! It is a race I have always dreamed of taking part in,” says Kilian. “The route and the scenery in these mountains, to my mind the most beautiful in continental America, are breathtaking.” After Hardrock come two races in July that Kilian knows well: the Dolomites Skyrace, where he'll do the VK and Sky Race (22km, 1,750 m) and the Giir di Mont (32km, 2,650 m). In August he'll do the classic Sierre Zinal (31km, 2,200 m) and Kima Trophy (50km, 3,800m) and then return to the States for the Rutt Ultra (50km, 3,048 m). His last race will be the Limone Extreme (23.5 km, 2,000 m), near Lake Garda in Italy in October. But he'd also love to do the 170km Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island again. “It's a race to be experienced, not only for the environment but also for its magnificent route amongst volcanoes,” he says. If there's any energy left in the tank, Kilian plans to finish the year with a return to his personal project and attempt a record on Aconcagua, 6,960m, the highest mountain in the Americas. Go Kilian!

How do you film the world's fastest mountain runner? Filmmaker Sébastien Montaz says it's all about the emotion. Dejame Vivir - Let Me Live - is the eagerly awaited second film from Sébastien Montaz to follow Kilian Jornet on the athlete's personal Summits of My Life project. It follows Kilian as he sets two mind-boggling record ascents on Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn. But it's much more than a documentary of the climbs, the filmmaker tells us: “To me what's important is not the performance; that's not my thing. My background is as a mountain guide and I've always filmed people – the thing for me is to try and capture the emotions. Kilian is someone who's happy, who has an entertaining personality. We wanted the film to be like him. So I asked him to shoot whenever he did something. Kilian has passion for the image and a very good understanding on how to make a film. He writes books, has a very good touch for telling stories using his phone or camera, he's posting stuff every day. He has a good eye and knows what works. These very personal shots added something new to the film because people think they know a little bit more about Kilian. It's more intimate. We also involved the public. For the Matterhorn record I was asking via Facebook for their shots, which I included. It's the same concept – getting stories from the inside.” Kilian is not the only star of the film. There is also another mountain legend, who the team meet in Russia for a race on Mt Elbrus, Vitaly Shkel, a Russian mountain guide. “His nickname is 'the monster' in Russian,” continues Montaz. “There's a whole legend around him. He lived in this hut at 4,000m all summer just to prepare for the race. He was well prepared. Kilian was quite suprised to have someone who kept up with him! To me it was the highlight of the filming to discover this unique athlete.” It's also a highlight of the film to see the camaraderie and friendship develop between the small community of mountain runners who turn up for the race. “Russia was fun,” adds Montaz. “It's a bit of a wild region.” Déjame Vivir is available for download here.