Karl Egloff

Skyrunner

Climbing the world's highest mountains at speed is challenging enough. But climbing them in a single day, with all the risks of altitude, safety, cold and with no supplemental oxygen—faster than anyone ever has before—that's when I'll truly know my own limits.

In life and in the mountains, Karl moves unbelievably fast with extreme confidence. One of the most gifted and respected mountain athletes in the world, the Swiss-Ecuadorian is best known for his blistering speed ascents of high peaks. Karl first gained international notoriety in 2014 after he smashed renowned sky runner Killian Jornet’s speed record on Mt. Kilimanjaro by 32 minutes. Karl went to the top and back in 6 hours and 42 minutes (it typically takes a prepared climber 4-7 days to climb and descend Kilimanjaro). In 2019, he again smashed a speed record of Jornet’s, running up and down Denali in under 12 hours. Karl’s unique brand of decisive, fast movement through dangerously technical, low-oxygen mountain terrain is truly rare.

When everyone else rests, Karl trains. His passion for limitless fitness, paired with his relentless work ethic and endurance gifts, means that he is basically unstoppable. Born in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador that sits high in the Andean foothills at 2,850 meters, Karl grew up at altitude with an Ecuadorian mother and Swiss mountaineer father who both made sure he gained mountain experience from a young age. By the time he was 15 years old, he had ascended 5000+ meter peaks and today is the owner and lead guide of Cumbre Tours Mountaineering.

Currently, Karl is working on a project to do the highest mountains on each continent, known as the 7 Summits, for their fastest known times in speed climbing. As if that wasn’t enough, he will also try for the fastest known times on the tallest peaks in each Andean country.