Setting out at 8:30 a.m. from the church in La Grave—a mecca for French freeriding—Nicolas Jean returned there at 12:41 p.m. after crossing La Meije in 4 hours and 11 minutes, nearly half an hour faster than Benjamin Védrines. Alpine Mag interviewed him to revisit in detail this breathtaking record on a challenging mountain. He talks about his inspirations —Kilian Jornet among others — and his determination to remain as self-sufficient as possible on one of the Alps’ most iconic peaks. A new FKT that Nicolas Jean achieved with a simplicity that contrasts with the sheer magnitude of this feat.
In 2020, when Benjamin Védrines completed the Meije traverse in 4 hours and 38 minutes, Nicolas Jean was among the first to declare the record unbeatable. Six years later, an old Facebook post reminded him of this: “Benjamin, you’re going to hold onto that record for a while! No