Nirmal Purja’s record broken

KATHMANDU, July 27: A Norwegian woman and her Nepali guide have made a new record of scaling 14 peaks of the world above 8000 meters, in the shortest duration. Kristin Harila and Tenzin Sherpa (Lama) made the record in 3 months and 1 day, immediately after scaling the K2 Mountain in Pakistan.

The record of Nirmal Purja, a British citizen of Nepali descent, who initially had the record of scaling all 14 peaks in 6 months and 6 days duration has been broken by the two after this feat. Purja has also been preparing to scale all 14 peaks without oxygen, in the shortest duration.

More than 40 climbers in the world have climbed the 14 highest peaks in the world, and among those, there are very few women.

Although 37-year-old Harila is a strong mountaineer, she was struggling to get a sponsor for this expedition. She even sold her apartment for this.

Harila, who is a resident of Vasdo in northern Norway, didn't start climbing from a young age. She has participated in football, handball and cross-country races, but started mountain climbing only after reaching Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2015.

On the other hand, Tenzin has been working as a guide since the age of 16. He is an important supporter of Harila in this campaign, her team has said in their press release.