Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila is more than ever in the race to climb the planet's 14 peaks over 8,000m in record time after reaching Gasherbrum I, Pakistan, the eleventh stage of her quest on Thursday, officials said. .
The Scandinavian announced on social networks that she had successfully climbed Gasherbrum I (8,080 m), the 11th highest peak in the world, on Thursday around 7:15 a.m. local time, accompanied by her guides Pasdawa and Dawa Ongju.
The announcement was confirmed by Karrar Hadri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
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"
The second phase in Pakistan was very difficult and dangerous: constantly changing weather conditions, hit by a stone, illness and a very tight schedule
," the mountaineer posted on Instagram.
"
But here we are, with only three peaks remaining
," she added.
The three mountains still to be climbed are Cho Oyu (8,201 m, 6th highest in the world), Manaslu (8,163 m, 8th) and Shishapangma (8,027 m, 14th), all located between Nepal and China.
The Norwegian embarked on her project on April 28 when she reached the summit of Annapurna (8,091 m), in Nepal.
In 105 days, says her team, she reached the summit of eleven 8,000, including an Everest-Lhotse sequence on May 22 and the ascent of K2, the second highest mountain on the planet, on July 22.
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The record for climbing the 14 peaks over 8,000 m on the planet is held by the Nepalese Nirmal Purja, who established it with a bang in 2019, in just six months and six days, erasing from the shelves the Polish Jerzy Kukuczka who accomplished these climbs in 7 years 11 months and 14 days in the 1980s.
If she wants to exceed it, Kristina Harila must complete her quest by the beginning of November.
In the immediate future, she will return to Norway before returning to Nepal and Tibet for the last phase of her project.
“Women are just as capable”
Only about 40 people in history have climbed the 14 Super Peaks.
"
In history and until now, it is the strong and macho men who go to climb mountains
", explained the 36-year-old mountaineer, committed to the recognition of women in sport, in an interview with the spring at AFP.
"
When I talk to people who aren't in the sport, they think men are more capable than women...If we want to change, we have to get attention and show that women are just as capable
" , she pleaded.
Five of the 14 peaks over 8,000m are in Pakistan, including K2, the world's second highest, a country that has had a record-breaking climbing season this year.
Some 1,780 permits to climb peaks over 8,000 m have been issued, Sajid Hussain, head of the tourism department of the Gilgit-Baltistan region, told AFP.
“
It has boosted our tourism and increased our foreign currencies
,” he added.
