Mont Blanc speed record: the feat of Equy and Jacquemoud
On April 25, 2026, Samuel Equy and Mathéo Jacquemoud completed the Chamonix–Mont Blanc round trip on skis in 4h41min24, a new record.
Written by Victor Michel — history enthusiast and passionate alpinist based in Chamonix. Published July 9, 2026
The feat
4h 41min 24s for the Chamonix–Mont Blanc round trip
On Saturday, April 25, 2026, French ski mountaineers Samuel Equy and Mathéo Jacquemoud completed the round trip on skis between the Chamonix church (1,030 m) and the summit of Mont Blanc (4,806 m) in 4h 41min 24s, improving the previous reference time by two minutes. Starting at 6:56am, they reached the summit in just over 3h 40, followed by a technical 1h 40 descent on wind-hardened snow.
4h 41min 24s
Total round-trip time
3h 41
Samuel Equy's time at the summit
3h 42
Mathéo Jacquemoud's time at the summit
1h 40
Descent time
The route
Via the Grands Mulets, not the Goûter
On the way up, the duo followed the historic Grands Mulets route: starting from the Chamonix church, crossing la Jonction (a glacial junction zone), the Grands Mulets refuge, the Vallot refuge, then the summit. The descent was via the North Face. Over roughly 30 km and nearly 3,800 m of elevation gain, this ski route is more direct than the normal Goûter route, taken by the vast majority of classic mountaineers.
"La Jonction was really tricky this year — heavily crevassed, with a big fracture line splitting the area in two."
The two athletes
A guide and a soldier, both elite ski mountaineers
Mathéo Jacquemoud
A high-mountain guide from Lus-la-Croix-Haute, 35 at the time of the record. Multiple-time ski mountaineering champion and two-time winner of the Pierra Menta.
Samuel Equy
A sergeant in the French army and member of the French ski mountaineering team, 29 at the time of the record. Winner of the 2026 Patrouille des Glaciers.
The time that was beaten
A previous record less than a year old
The previous time, 4h 43min 24s, was set by Italian William Boffelli on May 31, 2025 — less than a year before being beaten to the second: exactly a two-minute margin. This kind of record, specific to competitive ski mountaineering, should not be confused with a classic Mont Blanc ascent, which is planned over 2 to 3 days with a night in a refuge.
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