Jornet's adventure, dubbed States of Elevation, involves climbing all the 14,000-foot peaks in the Lower 48 and traveling between them by foot and bicycle. He climbed 56 Colorado mountains in 16 days this month, then bicycled nearly 900 miles to the Eastern Sierra to take on California's highest. In three days starting on Sept. 24, he hit the summits of Norman's 13, setting what is expected to be confirmed as the fastest known time for a supported trek of the high-altitude route.
Ojos del Salado rises more than twenty-two thousand feet above sea level, on Chile's northeastern border. It is the world's tallest volcano, towering over the world's highest desert: an ash-and-scree-covered behemoth that exceeds Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Denali in size, if not renown. Its name means "sources of the salty river," or, possibly, "eyes of salt," which is what the brackish lagoons on its lower reaches resemble when your brain is starved of oxygen.
Mountaineering isn't just a sport. Reaching the summit brings an incredible sense of relief. And it's proof that you can overcome your physical and emotional challenges, even after extreme hardship.
Mountaineering, for me, and the outdoors is probably what saved my life. It's my outlet. I want to try to encourage people not to let disabilities limit them.
