Climbing
On Saturday, May 31, Italian mountaineer William Boffelli carved his name into the record books, completing the round trip from Chamonix, France, to the summit of Mont Blanc and back in an astonishing 4 hours, 43 minutes, and 24 seconds. The Mont Blanc FKT, achieved with a combination of running and ski mountaineering, eclipsed the previous record set last week by more than 11 minutes.
Boffelli set off from the church in Chamonix at 5:45 a.m. He raced upward in running shoes, switching to ski boots and crampons at the 7,200-foot (2,200-meter) snow line. From there, he skied to Mont Blanc’s 15,781-foot (4,810-meter) summit, reaching the top by 9:30 a.m.
On the descent, Boffelli navigated treacherous seracs and crevasses. Once below the snow, he swapped back to trail shoes, opting for direct, rugged routes over winding paths, and sprinted the final stretch to Chamonix’s center. He crossed the finish at the church just before 10:30 a.m., completing the 20.1-mile (32.4-kilometer) round trip with a staggering 12,467 feet (3,800 meters) of elevation gain.
Boffelli’s time bested the previous record set only a week earlier by French mountaineer Benjamin Védrines, who had clocked 4 hours, 51 minutes, and 43 seconds. Boffelli’s achievement also surpasses the legendary unassisted time set by mountain GOAT Kilian Jornet in 2013, who completed the route in 4 hours, 57 minutes, and 44 seconds without skis.
The women’s benchmark remains with France’s Elise Poncet, who set a time of 6 hours, 54 minutes, and 47 seconds in May 2025.
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