A Norwegian woman and her Nepalese guide yesterday set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world’s 8,000m mountains, their team said in a statement.
Kristin Harila and Tenjin Sherpa — known as Lama — completed the feat in three months and one day after summiting Pakistan’s K2, the last peak on their quest.
The record reflects “their unwavering determination, teamwork and sheer tenacity throughout this monumental endeavor,” the team statement said.
Photo: AFP / Field Productions
“Harila and Lama’s collaboration has showcased the essence of mountaineering unity, transcending borders and cultures to achieve greatness together,” it said.
The pair surpassed Nepal-born British adventurer Nirmal Purja’s record of six months and six days, set in 2019.
Purja is currently attempting to set the record for the fastest ascent of all 14 peaks without supplemental oxygen.
In her race to set the record, Harila had to summit 12 of the mountains twice, including K2, after delays in securing visas from China to climb Shishapangma — wholly in Tibet — and Cho Oyu, normally climbed from the Chinese side.
More than 40 people have summited the world’s top 14 peaks, only a few of them women.
Last year, despite her proven climbing prowess, 37-year-old Harila struggled to secure sponsors, forcing her to sell her apartment to fund her quest.
“I think to do this project if I was a man would be much easier,” she said in an interview in May. “It is just different to be a woman in the world, not just with the sponsorships.”
Harila is a native of Vadso, on the Barents Sea in Norway’s northernmost reaches, where the highest point is just 633m.
She did not take to climbing from an early age, dedicating herself to soccer, handball and cross-country skiing. It was only in 2015 when she won a trip to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania from her employers that she discovered her passion.
Lama, who has been a guide since the age of 16, was Kristin’s companion throughout her record-breaking journey.
“Lama’s invaluable expertise and profound connection with the mountains have been integral to their success in navigating treacherous terrains and facing harsh weather conditions,” the team’s statement said.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s 14 “super peaks” and climbing them all is considered the ultimate achievement of any mountaineer.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS