When the Slovenian alpinist Miha Valic topped all 82 4,000-meter Alps peaks in 102 days, beginning on December 27, 2006, and ending April 7, he completed a major feat, one that has, in his words, “been a thorn in the European alpinists' flesh for a while.” Valic’s mission was largely self-sufficient (various partners met him at various times), though he did use an automobile to shuttle between route, and took cable-car rides, when applicable, up into the range. In 1993, the British climbers Martin Moran and Simon Jenkins climbed 75 peaks in 52 days, using a bicycle to ferry between the ranges. Climbing caught up with Moran via email to get his thoughts on Valic’s ascents: 

Back when you and Simon did the feat, only 75 peaks were listed – what changed in the ranking, or was there not an official one at that point as far as you know?
We did all 75 peaks with more than 35 metres height separation in a 52-day journey; when we did our round, the UIAA list of 82 hadn't been published, so we set our own parameter of what constitutes a significant top. In effect the differences between our list and the UIAA list are fairly minor.

How did you guys move between the peaks, and what sort of support did you have?
Our trip was non-motorised, self-propelled, and continuous. We bicycled between the ranges and walked or skied up all the peaks (no cablecars or mountain railways). We had support teams bringing up food and supplies on several sections

You did this in summer — what are some of the major differences between conditions as you found them and what a winter suitor might face? What were the major obstacles for you guys — storms? Wet cracks? Loose talus terrain that is perhaps better when snowed under?
We had a very poor summer on our round - lots of snow on the peaks and stormy weather. However, huts were staffed and approaches to the peaks were free of snow. In winter the big problem is high chance of heavy snowfall at all levels, making progress very difficult and creating high avalanche risk. This winter Miha had long spells of excellent weather and conditions but when the heavy snows came in March he faced massive problems. In summer, a storm might last two days and fresh snow might cause dangers for a further three days; whereas in winter, a storm may last a week and create high avalanche risk and dangerous cornicing on ridges for a week after that.

What would it take to do all 82 in as many days in terms of fitness, skill, and support?
The big challenge is to do a continuous self-propelled journey in winter in the same way as we did in summer. This was the style adopted by [Patrick] Berhault in 2004 when in skied between ranges - but his attempt was in spring, not winter. Given a settled winter without too many heavy snowfalls I think a continuous 82-day round is possible, but it would need support teams, good knowledge of many of the peaks, and a pair of very able, determined alpinists.