Kanchenjunga to Kathmandu

Rupert Jones-Warner became the first person to run from the summit it of the worlds third highest mountain - Kanchenjunga, almost 700 miles across the Himalayas, up to Everest, and back to Kathmandu. His two month expedition covered a variety of environments from the ‘death zone’ at 8586m above sea level to dense jungle, trails, roads and cities and included a number of disciplines including high-altitude mountaineering, fast-packing and ultra running.

‘I have been on four 8,000m expeditions over the years including two expeds to Everest, a summit of Annapurna and now Kanchenjunga. Although I love the 8,000m peaks I wanted to get a little more. When covid hit I postponed my expedition to K2 and naturally turned to trail/ ultra running. I raced in numerous races around the UK and Europe and absolutely loved it. When it came to going back to the Himalayas, I wanted to incorporate running into my Expedition. Thats where the 'Summit to City’ project came from. A race against the clock from the summit of the worlds third highest mountain, via Everest to Kathmandu. This would take me from 8586m down through the high Himalaya, over glaciers, through wild remote jungle, towns and everything in- between. The contrast was vast - one day I would be crossing a glacier - the next day I would be pulling leaches off myself in dense jungle. Not only this, according to my Suunto 9 Peak I clocked 1,119km (695miles), 881,608 steps, 31,117m ascent / 35,145m descent and took 518 hours. Thats the equivalent of walking from London to Edinburgh and back and climbing the Shard 100 times. It was a true adventure that included freezing temperatures, climbing through the ‘death zone’ past dead bodies to extreme heat, monkeys, snakes, leeches, giant insects, dehydration, rope bridges and dangerous river crossings. I would describe it as the ultimate adventure.’