On Friday, May 16, Arc’teryx athlete Élise Poncet shattered the women’s round-trip ski ascent record of Mont Blanc by more than 30 minutes. She completed the challenging route in 6 hours, 54 minutes, and 47 seconds.
Poncet’s attempt started at 5 a.m. from the church in Chamonix. The journey covered nearly 22 miles (35 kilometers) of climbing and skiing, with an elevation gain of approximately 12,467 feet (3,800 meters).
While Élise is widely recognized for her success in trail running, she brought over ten years of experience in both trail running and alpinism to this remarkable effort.
“It was a blend of my two greatest passions—endurance performance and high mountain alpine terrain,” Poncet said. “I am very happy to have completed this project.”