Above the Clouds

The most accomplished mountain runner of all time contemplates his record-breaking climb of Mount Everest in this profound and free-flowing memoiran intellectual and spiritual journey that moves from the earths highest peak to the souls deepest reaches. What drives a person to the edge of one of the most difficult and revered mountains in the world? How much is one willing to sacrifice and suffer to pursue an authentic and bold life? The most accomplished mountain runner of all time, Kilian Jornet ponders these questions as he contemplates his record-breaking climb of Mount Everest, exploring the mountains changing nature over four seasons and his own existence. As he recounts a life spent studying, tending, and ascending the greatest peaks on earth, Jornet ruminates on what he has found in naturesimplicity, freedom, and spiritual joyand offers a poetic yet clearheaded assessment of his relationship to the mountain . . . at times his opponent, at others, his greatest muse. In this sweeping, soulful journeythe flip side of stories like Into Thin AirJornet illuminates with beauty and brilliance what it means to be an athlete, a competitor, and a human facing the greatest life challengesfor him, the mountain he yearns to climb and honour.