Climbing
In April 2022, a 37-year-old Norwegian woman set out to break the speed record for reaching the tops of all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks (26,000 feet+). She did this after Nirmal “Nims” Purja, the star of the award-winning 2021 documentary 14 Peaks, had already climbed the 14 mountains in six months and six days, however he did not reach the ‘true summits’ of Manaslu and Dhaulagiri, so had to return in 2021 to do so. Harila reached all14 true summits in one year and five days, which makes her the official record holder.
Purja accomplished his goal of climbing the 14 peaks in October 2019, when he climbed Shishapangma and completed the project in only six months and six days. However, since he did not reach the true summits of Manaslu and Dhaulagiri, he had to return in 2021 to reach their tops. He reached the true summits of all 14 peaks in two years, five months, and 15 days, breaking the previous record of seven years, 10 months, and six days, set by Kim Chang-ho. In total, only 36 mountaineers have ever climbed all 14 of the world’s highest peaks. Today, that number is 37.
On May 3, 2023, Kristin Harila, completed her mission to climb all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks after she submitted Cho Oyu in Tibet, doing so in 12 months and five days. Counting the true summits, she is the official world record holder for the fastest time to summit all 14 peaks and she is also only the second woman to ever do so.
Harila’s team shared in an Instagram post on her behalf, writing:
Cho Oyu has been summited! ⛰️ ⛰️
⌚: May 3rd, approx. 2:45pm (tbc)
⛰️: 2/14Congratulations to Kristin Harila for successfully summiting Cho Oyu as part of her 2023 project. Let’s cheer her on in her attempt to break the world record for climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in less than six months.
Kristin is grateful for the support of her team, sponsors, and supporters who made this achievement possible. Her journey to break the record continues, and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.
As the current world record holder and second woman ever to summit all of Earth’s 14 tallest mountains, the question remains: what record will she aim to smash next?
View this post on Instagram
