Kilian Jornet is an athletic marvel. He climbs the tallest mountains; he runs races at various distances on these mountains as well as more level ground and he puts himself through punishing training sessions. He hadn't yet conquered the ultimate challenge for any climber: reaching the peak of Mount Everest. His journey to do so is told in his own words and manner in this book.

One aspect of the book that may turn off some readers is that there is not a good flow or sequence in the book – the stories of the Everest expeditions (there was more than one) are in order, but the other tales and reflections Jornet shares are random and seem to be written on whatever emotion he was feeling at the time he was sitting in front of his keyboard. While that does make it a little more challenging to read in as few settings as possible, I find them brutally honest. That is a good trait to have, as I find that type of writing hard to put down, especially in some of his darker times when he wonders if all his training and work is worth the effort.

But that training DOES produce results – if you don't know about the awards he has won, he does share some of them, but doesn't come across as arrogant. He shares some more tender moments, such as the three people whom he believes were the most important to help him become the climber that he has become (another dark moment comes here when he describes how one of them became another climbing victim). His partner Emilie is a climber as well and the story of when they were scaling Everest together and her fall is both terrifying and riveting.

While these stories can be considered downers, there are plenty of triumphs and great prose about climbing as well. A reader just has to take them in carefully and enjoy them as they come in the book. This will never be confused for a work of great writing, but it is an interesting look at the duel sports of mountaineering and running (much more of the former) that is worth the time to read.

Above the Clouds by Kilian Jornet is a detailed story of his lifetime of running and climbing mountains from his earliest childhood days. I enjoyed reading this book very much. He has a disciplined focus on goal-oriented training for competitions and expeditions. A very interesting and informative read.

I fond this book to be extremely dull. One of my favorite books is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, and I think that I was hoping it would live up to his high standard of compelling fiction writing. Unfortunately, I was so bored by this book. I was really hoping for more from this book, but Jornet's storytelling skills are just not up to par with his athleticism.

This was the perfect escape I needed from current events. Above the Clouds is an adventure filled journey up and down mountains. Jornet is a champion mountaineer, skiier, and runner and his book is a gift. He's not known for his effusive personality, but his sparse prose is descriptive. For a couple of hours, I was transported to another world. It was a beautiful ride.

Above the Clouds is a great endurance story and how the body pushes itself. It reinforces how I never want to climb Mt Everest or really any mountain. There is great risk and I think that gets overlooks a lot. There were some awkward transitions but overall I felt like the book was fairly good. Kilian brings up things that aren't always talked about in endurance such as eating disorders. And really brings up knowing his body best and how to perform best for him. I think that's excellent advice because we all are different.

Thanks Harper Collins and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review.

“I crossed the finish line in first place, only six seconds before Raul Garcia. Those six seconds — apparently short, but in truth eternal — allowed me to lift the trophy of Skyrunning World Cup. Those six seconds gave me the ability to begin to live my dream. Those six seconds motivated me to win every competition I’ve won since then. They were the most valuable six seconds of my career.”

This was a really interesting memoir to read about a professional trail runner and mountaineer. As an amateur hiker myself, I have always been blown away when I see trail runners zip by me as I am lugging a heavy pack to a summit. Hearing about Kilian’s experiences was eye-opening to me and extremely motivational. I found him very humble throughout the book despite him being literally one of the best athletes of all time. He has set a record for the fastest recorded time climbing numerous mountains (matterhorn, denali, kilimanjaro) and submitted Mount Everest twice in one week unassisted. Additionally, he has won and set numerous other records for climbing, hiking, trail running, street running, and mountaineering. One exchange he talks about is after he wins a race and a woman approaches him in awe of his achievement and his reflection was about how he is not really doing life saving work and also that it is his full time job so of course he can run faster than someone who has another source of employment.

“Knowing that the slightest false step would cause me to fall and break my heart.”

I think this book could be a good motivational source to get you to conquer whatever goal you have. For me, I really enjoyed hearing about this since I would consider it adjacent to my hobby.

When I saw that Alex Honnald had written a glowing review about Above the Clouds I knew I had to read it. My husband and I recently joined a rock climbing gym and have been closely following the sport for a few months now. Kilian is an incredible mountaineer, climber and runner and Above the Clouds invites us inside of his training and journey to becoming the athlete he is today. He describes his training for climbing Mount Everest and is so devoted and regimented in following his training plan to the T but still allowing his body some grace. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was how humble Kilian Jornet was. While he holds multiple records and is truly remarkable at his craft, he's still a normal person who wasn't trying to remind the reader how great he was though the whole book. The way he paints a picture of Mount Everest really made me feel like I was there too. He did a great job setting the scene for his climb. I recommend this book to anyone who is into climbing, running and mountaineering. It's a great read!

I was familiar with Killian from the ultra community. I found this to be an interesting look to how he thinks and trains. I enjoyed his open and honest look at himself,without just trying to make himself look good.

Unaware of the feats of this young man, I chose to read this book because I enjoy reading about climbing and mountaineering. This book was a wild ride from start to finish. His successes and failures are interesting and thought-provoking. He has climbed with some of the most high profile people, and run some of the most prestigious races.
Some of the stories in this book are terrifying, even from a climber's point of view. At one point, he completely loses track of what is going on while coming down from the summit of Everest and does not know how he gets where he is. The idea that he would not be able to find his way and would possibly freeze to death without figuring out his location is harrowing at best.
Jornet adroitly communicates his interest in sporting and the things that drive him, but not to a point that bores or is self-righteous. It is very interesting to hear what causes him to do the things he does. I think that is one of the things that makes us interested in hearing about extreme sports -- what causes these people to want to do these very scary and often unsafe things?
For him, it is the drive to train, and I think this is an interesting thing to unpack in his book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest or knowledge of mountaineering, climbing or sky-running (of which I was unaware until reading this book - interesting concept).

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Above the Clouds is an inspiring memoir of Jornet's journey with sports and athleticism. I'm not much into sports but I found myself interested and entertained because of his motivation and perseverance. I also liked his writing as well. would highly recommend this one. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Also, the cover is just lovely.

An amazing athlete a man whose determination thoughtfulness athleticism is awe inspiring.Following his life his plans his thoughts make this a fascinating read.Highly recommend,#netgalley#norton&norton

Such an amazing book!! Loved every page in this one. It took me no time to read this because I didn’t want to put it down.

"To me, sport doesn't mean a life full of sacrifices but rather one full of choices."
Above the Clouds by Kilian Jornet is an in-depth story of his lifetime of running mountains from his earliest childhood days. I enjoyed reading this book very much.
Kilian Jornet has a disciplined focus on goal-oriented training for competitions and expeditions.
In writing this book, the author wants to share what has been his personal life goals which help explain his almost compulsive drive to race and climb in the mountains.
As I read the book, I often wondered how his body could continue to perform in the running and climbing competitions with very little nutritional support for his physical endurance. The extremes of training seemed to be relentless, but for the author, it was his life. He enjoyed pushing the limits of his body
He had a dream while on the flight to the Himalayas for his ascent on Everest. Could this have been a warning to him for the experience soon to come? His second unsupported ascent on Everest a few days after completing the first could have been disastrous. I won't post spoilers.
Publication Date: August 25, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.