Nepali mountaineer and former British Marine Nirmal Purja has climbed the world's 14 tallest mountains in a span of seven months.
Nirmal Purja reached the his 14th peak, the Shishapangma mountain in China on Tuesday morning, beating a previous record of almost eight years.
The 36-year-old Purja joined the British Army in 2003 and became a Royal Marine in 2009 but his climbing career started when he walked to Everest base camp in 2012 and, instead of returning as planned, he decided to climb all the way to the mountaintop.
Prior to this accomplishment, Purja has held numerous climbing records, including the fastest "double-header" of two mountains higher than 8,000 meters. In 2018, the Queen bestowed him with the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) distinction for civilians.
The 14 peaks he climbed in those seven months are the only mountains in the world higher than 8,000 meters. According to Purja's website, the previous record was held by Polish climber Jerzy Kukucza, who completed the task in 1987 in a span of 7 years, 11 months and 14 days.
However, the British Mountaineering Council's website indicates that the record holder was actually South Korean Kim Chang-ho, who accomplished it in 7 years, 10 months and 6 days.
Purja started the challenge in April in Nepal and climbed Mount Everest in May. He was also able to rescue four other mountaineers during his climbs.
In August, he scaled Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in five days when he could have done it in three because he had to stop for two nights "to have a drink". His journey also got delayed when he had to wait for permission to climb the final mountain, Shishapangma, in the Tibetan autonomous region of China.
The Chinese government released the permit on October 15 after the Nepali government approached on his behalf. The 14 mountains he climbed were Nepal's Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu, Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu, Pakistan's Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum 1, Gasherbrum 2, K2, and Broad Peak, and China's Cho Oyu and Shishapangma.
