Research Projects

While Kilian is pushing the boundaries of human endurance and capability trying to connect the maximum number of 4000m mountains in the Alps, using only human-powered means and local resources, it is equally inspiring to celebrate and respect the natural values in this great region.

The European Week of Winter Sports (EWWS) a Co-Funded by the European Union project, is driven by a set of clear and ambitious objectives aimed at promoting sustainability, active living, and community engagement in winter sports.

The Pyrenees are the mountain chain in southern Europe where the cryosphere plays a crucial role in hydrological, geomorphological and environmental processes. The components of the cryosphere (snow, glaciers and permafrost) serve as robust indicators of climate change and are at the same time perceptible to society.

Thanks to the Joan Oró and the Salvador Grau i Tort scholarships, we started the LACOS project, a scientific study in collaboration with secondary schools in the Pyrenees. The main objective of this project is to study the importance of mountain lakes in the carbon cycle, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The hypothesis that is formulated is whether mountain lakes are carbon emitters or reservoirs, as well as whether human impact with over-frequency or introduction of invasive species affects this balance.

Ecosystems exposed to the effects of climate change are particularly affected. Understanding these upheavals and developing conservation strategies require the knowledge of the living beings that inhabit these environments, and monitoring their evolution.

The Kilian Jornet Foundation wants to focus its first project on the study and investigation of one of the most visible climate change phenomena: the retreat of glaciers. Studying this retreat is key to developing projects to conserve these ice masses that hold between 60 and 80% of the planet’s fresh water.