For an epic test of endurance across Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks and all others of the Lower 48 states, mission accomplished.

“States of Elevation: finished,” read the recent post on Kilian Jornet’s social media. “72 fourteeners in 31 days, linked only by running and riding.”

More numbers boggled the minds of fans following from afar since September, when the illustrious ultrarunning Spaniard started the multi-state pursuit on Longs Peak: 3,198 miles traveled and 403,638 feet of elevation gain by foot and bike.

“This was never about the numbers,” the post on Jornet’s social media continued. “The point was the country between them: the quiet miles, the shared ridges, the storms that make you small, and the simple goal to get there under his own power, running and riding the spaces in between.”

All starting in Colorado, where Jornet recorded 56 summits “stitched together by legendary routes, iconic peaks, and a vibrant local community showing up all along the way.” From Longs Peak, Jornet went on to all but two of the state’s fourteeners — a privately owned pair — via fearsome link-ups across the Elks and Crestones and lines known as LA Freeway and Nolan’s 14.

Jornet reportedly covered Colorado’s fourteeners in 16 days, allowing 4.5 hours of sleep per night. The self-powered push via foot and bike was similar to Joe Grant’s reported accomplishment in 2018.

But no one has reported doing what Jornet did next.

From Chicago Basin’s fourteener cluster, Jornet’s team chronicled “the Desert Ride” — a cycling journey across four states and nearly 900 miles to the base of California’s Sierra Nevada. After five days of pedaling, Jornet set out for Norman’s 13, the iconic line tagging the range’s fourteeners. 

His team reported “scrambling on ridges where every move counts.” He logged a fastest known time across the 13 peaks, taking 56 hours, 11 minutes to cover 101 miles and about 38,400 feet of vertical gain. 

After “a rare night of true rest” consisting of a hot shower, pizza and a hotel bed, Jornet set off for his 70th fourteener: White Mountain Peak. He then pedaled north for two days to Mount Shasta, where he was said to be met by fierce winds and summit temperatures that felt like minus 20.

On Oct. 1, Jornet returned to his bike for a reported 242 miles and 14 hours “rolling past green hills and into Oregon’s cool, rain-fresh air.” The next day he rode almost 16 more hours to reach the foot of Mount Rainier, his final summit. 

“States of Elevation” followed two similar self-powered feats by Jornet that stunned the mountaineering world: one across the Pyrenees in 2023 and another traversing the Alps in 2024.