Nepalese Nirmal Purja claims to have set a record for the fastest climb of all 14 eight-thousanders. The 36-year-old former elite soldier spent a total of six months and six days on his mission, as he posted on Facebook.
The previous record holder, the Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka, needed seven years and eleven months to climb the 14 mountains. He completed his last ascent in 1987.
"Mission accomplished," Purja wrote on Facebook after climbing the 8027-meter Shishapangma in China. Purja had started his ambitious "Project Possible" in April and climbed six eight-thousanders within one month, including Mount Everest.
NIRMAL PURJA / BREMONT PROJECT POSSIBLE / AFP
At the top of the Gasherbrum II.
When he first reported on his plans, everyone had laughed at him, said Purja then the AFP news agency. It is all about believing in one's own abilities and not losing the "positive attitude" when things go wrong.
Thus, the Nepalese has even impressed the mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner. Purja's record was a "unique mountaineering achievement," Messner praised in a statement to the AFP. Messner praised Purja for the "logistical preparation" and implementation of his project. The 75-year-old Italian Messner was the first person to make the complete eight-thousander series in 1986.
With his record, he wanted to especially the younger generation of mountaineers in Nepal to encourage him to emulate, said Purja. Because many so-called Sherpas, the Nepalese mountain guides on international expeditions, were among the best mountaineers in the world, but did not get as much attention as their clients.