A former special forces soldier has claimed the world record for climbing the 14 highest mountains on Earth in just six months and six days.
Nirmal Purja, known as Nims, reached the summit of the 14th highest peak – Shishapangma, in the Himalayas, this morning, completing his challenge within six months and six days.
The 36-year-old smashed the previous record, which stood at seven years and 10 months, set by South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho.
Mr Purja powered to the top of the 14 mountains, each above 26,246 feet with peaks in the so-called ‘death-zone’, in just 190 days, starting with Annapurna on April 23, tackling Everest in May and K2 in July.
Nirmal Purja, known as Nims, reached the summit of the 14th highest peak – Shishapangma, in the Himalayas, on Tuesday morning, completing his challenge within six months and six days. Pictured is Mr Purja at the summit of the first of the 14 mountains, Annapurna, Nepal, on April 23
The 36-year-old smashed the previous record, which stood at seven years and 10 months, set by South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho. Pictured is Mr Purja at the top of Dhaulagiri, Nepal, on May 12
Mr Purja powered to the top of the 14 mountains, each above 26,246 feet with peaks in the so-called ‘death-zone’, in just 190 days, starting with Annapurna on April 23, tackling Everest in May and K2 in July. Pictured is Mr Purja at the top of Kangchenjunga, Nepal, on May 15
After reaching the peak of the 14th mountain Mr Purja said: ‘Everything in life is possible armed only with determined approach and positive mindset.’ Pictured is the former special forces soldier at the top of Everest, Nepal, May 22
Mr Purja said: ‘I am overwhelmed and incredibly proud to have completed this final summit and achieved my goal of climbing the world’s 14 tallest mountains in record time.’ Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Lhotse, Nepal, May 22
Mr Purja also holds the record for climbing the fastest summit of the three highest mountains in the world, Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Makalu, Nepal, May 24
On June 9, 2018, Mr Purja was awarded an MBE from the Queen, for his outstanding achievement on extreme high altitude mountaineering. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, July 3
According to Mr Purja’s website, he was born in the Dhaulagiri region of Nepal, at an altitude of 1600m, and grew up in Chitwan. He joined the legendary Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003 before passing the UKSF selection to become the first ever Gurkha to make the rank of SBS in 2009
Mr Purja said: ‘I am overwhelmed and incredibly proud to have completed this final summit and achieved my goal of climbing the world’s 14 tallest mountains in record time.
‘It has been a gruelling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity.
‘I could not have made it happen without the unending support of my friends and family who have been in my heart this entire time. We started with nothing, but look how far we’ve come.’
The former soldier, who completed the climbs with a rotating team of Nepalese climbers, also claimed to have notched up six other world records, including the fastest summit of the highest five mountains in the world.
His climbing career started in December 2012, where he set out on a trek to Everest Base Camp. Once he arrived, instead of sticking to the schedule and returning to Kathmandu, he made a bold choice to summit Lobuche East (20,013ft) without any previous climbing experience. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Gasherbrum I, Pakistan, July 15
On April 23, just days into his world-record attempt and descending Annapurna, Mr Purja led a successful rescue attempt to find fellow climber Dr Chin Wui Kin, who had been separated from an accompanying expedition and left without food, water or an oxygen bottle for 40 hours. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Gasherbrum II, Pakistan, July 18
On May 15, having made it to the summit of Kanchenjunga in just 21 hours, Mr Purja and his team rescued a further two climbers from a height of 27,559ft and sacrificing their own supplementary oxygen to the climbers in need. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of K2, Pakistan, July 24
Mr Purja has a history of carrying out rescues during his expeditions, and in 2016 saved the life of an Indian climber in the Mount Everest death zone, taking her down 1,640ft from an altitude of 27,723ft single handedly. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Broad Peak, Pakistan, July 26
He is a cold weather warfare specialist, and said he was the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Cho Oyu, China, September 23
He also holds three existing Guinness World Records for the fastest consecutive summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in five days, the fastest time from the summit of Everest to the summit of Lhotse, and he was the first person to summit Everest twice, Lhotse once and Makalu once, in the same season. Pictured is Mr Purja on the summit of Manaslu, Nepal, September 27
Nirmal Purja reached the top of his 14th mountain, Shishapangma in China, this morning. He is a cold weather warfare specialist, and said he was the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military
Mr Purja served in the British military for 16 years, 10 of which were spent in the special forces, and he was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2018 for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.
He is a cold weather warfare specialist, and said he was the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military.
He also holds three existing Guinness World Records for the fastest consecutive summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in five days, the fastest time from the summit of Everest to the summit of Lhotse, and he was the first person to summit Everest twice, Lhotse once and Makalu once, in the same season.
In 2016, he broke mountaineering conventions to rescue a climber left in the ‘Everest death zone’, bringing her to safety alone. She is alive and well, living with her family in India.