Italian Climber Claims Fastest Known Time (FKT) on Mont Blanc

Originally posted on Outdoors on SI | By Maria Aldrich | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 8:30 PM ET

Just a few short days ago, French alpinist Benjamin Vedrines completed a round-trip ski trip on Mont Blanc and set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT). His astonishing record, clocked at 4 hours, 54 minutes, 41 seconds, was unfathomable to most and a truly incredible mountaineering accomplishment.

Vedrines was able to soak up the record for a whopping seven days before another athlete arrived to claim the title. As Vedrines noted on his social media post following his success, "The Mont Blanc records will, I think, remain a reference in the world of modern alpinism. It's a legendary mountain and a legendary challenge. I'm excited to see what's next for this reference time."

Challenges are meant to be accepted, and records are meant to be broken—that's what happened on May 31 when another athlete set the new FKT on skis.

William Boffelli Claims FKT on Mont Blanc from Benjamin Vedrines

Now holding the record for the fastest time to complete Mont Blanc round-trip on skis, William Boffelli of Italy stamped his name into the history books with a jaw-dropping time of 4 hours 43 minutes 24 seconds, shaving approximately 11 minutes off Vedrine's time.

According to Planetmountain.com, his chosen route differed from Vedrines' in that Boffelli ascended the Vallot route as opposed to Le Corridor and Col de la Brenva. While it's improbable that this record will be touched again anytime soon, there is likely an alpinist out there, somewhere, who is already planning for the next monumental moment on Mont Blanc.

Still holding the women's ski record is Élise Poncet of France, who set the record in 2025 with a time of six hours, 54 minutes, 47 seconds. While the ski FKT appears to be ever-changing, the legendary Kilian Jornet still holds the on-foot record for men (four hours 57 minutes 40 seconds), which was set in 2013, while Hillary Gerardi claimed the women's on-foot record in 2023 after finishing in seven hours 25 minutes 28 seconds.

For now, each record is firmly placed and has not been touched, though it doesn't take long for someone to set a FKT of their own. How long will these records stand?

This article first appeared on Outdoors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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