New Speed Record on Mont Blanc for Ski Mountaineers
Matheo Jacquemoud and Samuel Equy bag the fastest known time at 4 hours, 41 minutes and 24 seconds
French climbers Matheo Jacquemoud and Samuel Equy have set a new fastest known time (FKT) for a round trip on Mont Blanc, completing the ascent and descent in 4 hours, 41 minutes, and 24 seconds. Using ski mountaineering techniques, they covered nearly 30 kilometers and climbed over 3,700 meters of elevation. Their speedy climb shaved two minutes off the previous record set in 2025.
Jacquemoud and Equy began their push from the church in downtown Chamonix (where all speed record attempts begin), climbing via the Jonction, Grands Mulets, and Vallot route to reach the 4,806-metre summit. Equy led a strong ascent, reaching the top in 3 hours and 41 minutes, with Jacquemoud arriving a few seconds later. They then flipped into rapid descent mode and ripped down the north face, finishing back in Chamonix after just over an hour of downhill.
Conditions along the route were far from ideal, especially at the Jonction, which featured several crevasses and avalanche hazards. Jacquemoud noted that careful navigation through this section slowed them down just a bit, but that their endurance allowed them to maintain a record pace. Jacquemoud also noted Equy’s strength on the climb, saying there were moments he struggled to keep up before regaining ground closer to the summit.
Jacquemoud is a professional ski mountaineer and a previous record holder, and Equy has multiple victories on the competitive ski mountaineering circuit. In 2013, Kilian Jornet set got the on-foot FKT on Mont Blanc with a time of 4:57:34, surpassing the previous record, which was set 23 years earlier, by an impressive 14 minutes.
