Climbing
Kristin Harila and Tenjin Lama Sherpa have successfully summitted Gasherbrum I, located on the border between Pakistan and China, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. This is the 12th mountain the two have climbed together in Kristin’s 2023 bid to beat her own record, as well as Nimsdai’s record.
The Norwegian mountaineer had set out in May this year with the goal of beating her own world record of climbing all 14 true peaks above 8,000m in 2023. Harila had completed the world record on May 8, 2023, in one year and five days but decided immediately to set out and beat her own record again. Harila’s goal had been to do the 14 peaks in under six months, but visa issues with China meant she could not complete her first bid in under six months.
Nirmal Purja (also known as Nims or Nimsdai) had initially held the world record for climbing the 14 8,00+ peaks, with a time of six months and six days, however, later it was established that he had not reached the ‘true summit’ of Manaslu and Dhaulagiri. He was forced to climb the two peaks again in 2021 in order to reach the ‘true summit’ and claim the official world record. Since he had first climbed all 14 8,000+ peaks in 2019, it blew out his total time to more than two years, which was still a world record at the time. For that reason Harila’s time of one year and five months was the new world record.
Harila however is determined to go below Nims’ initial world record of six months. With the successful ascent of Gasherbrum I, Kristin has now conquered the 12th peak out of 14. She climbed Gasherbrum I without supplementary oxygen. Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, is situated in the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas and reaches a peak elevation of 8,080m (26,510 ft).
Her project has not been without controversy, with some accusing her of ‘cheating’ by using helicopters to fly between peaks. Harila recently came out in her own defense, saying the allegations were false and hurtful.
“[…]@mingma.g posted a video yesterday of a helicopter flying in Manaslu, implying I was flying up to the camps and not climbing. I am disappointed this has come from Mingma, as I have respected him in the past. I always openly shared my tracking, so that people can see where I have climbed and where I stopped for breaks. I have started and stopped my tracker on every climb I have done. […] False accusations not only put into question MY reputation and record, but they also affect the reputation of Seven Summits Treks and the Sherpa I climb with. […] I have never claimed that I could do this completely alone. Yes, it is my project and it is me who sold my house and is raising money to complete the project. I am not a “rich white lady”. All my money is going to the project and to make sure my team gets what they deserve, in both salary and recognition. Today, I have left 3 possessions only; a dream, a passion and a goal. I have experienced that people want to bring me down. But, I will not let them! I will keep climbing and keep being happy about what I manage to achieve. I hope this will inspire others too.”
If you want to follow Kristin’s progress, her tracking data is uploaded to Garmin.
