Norwegian mountaineer one step closer to summit all 14 8-thousanders

Kristin Harila has done 12 peaks in less than five months and now needs to summit two more peaks before November 2

Faizan Lakhani

September 22, 2022

Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila. — Provided by the reporter

KARACHI: Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila got one step closer to her target of becoming the quickest person to summit all 14 peaks of over 8,000 metres in the world when she summited Mount Manaslu in Nepal, her 12th of 14.

Harila is aiming to break the record of Nepal’s Nirmal Purja who submitted all 14 peaks of 8,000m in six months and six days.

The 36-year-old Norwegian, who started her record expedition in April this year, has done 12 peaks in less than five months and now needs to summit two more peaks before November 2.

In May 2021, she set a world record by becoming the fastest woman to climb Mount Everest and Lhotse in less than 12 hours.

“Kristin summited Manaslu (8163 m) — the eight-highest mountain in the world — today at 2:36pm local time with Pasdawa Sherpa and Dawa Sherpa as the first team this season,” said a statement by her team.

"This was hard, but we wanted to summit Manaslu now to avoid the crowd of climbers waiting at the basecamp. Heavy snowfall and high risk of avalanches made this ascend challenging, so I am glad we made it", Harila said in a message from the summit of Manaslu, released by her team.

Harila now needs to summit two more mountains to achieve her target to be the fastest to summit all 14 peaks over 8000m. However, she is still waiting for a permit from the Chinese government to climb Shishapangma and Cho Oyu.

The final deadline is November 2.

"I have already proved that women can break barriers. I hope I get a fair chance to set the record, it would mean a lot for women in mountaineering,” she had said earlier.