The Profile Dossier Classic: Nims Purja, the Mountaineer Who Summited the World's 14 'Death Zone' Peaks

"Most of us are forgetting that from the beginning of our life, we are approaching death."

Good morning, friends!

I first published this Profile Dossier two years ago, so I wanted to re-surface it as a refresher. It’s one of the most absurd and bizarre stories that I’ve featured, so I hope you enjoy this.

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There are 14 'death zone' peaks in the entire world that are higher than 8,000 meters. The fastest anyone had summited all 14 had been eight years.

And then came Nims Purja.

A relatively unknown mountaineer from Nepal, he declared he would take on the formidable task and climb all 14 in a matter of seven months. Because a feat like this was considered impossible, he defiantly called his quest, "Project Possible."

“Nobody thought it could be done, but I always believed it was possible,” Purja says. “I had to go through so many unplanned problems, but I always kept believing that I would break the record.”

The peaks he climbed included Mount Everest, Lhotse, Kangchenjunga, Makalu, and K2. For the final peak, Shishapangma, he had to get special permission from China because it had been closed to the public due to "unsafe conditions" since 2014.

Purja shattered his goal and summited all 14 peaks in six months and six days, immediately earning the respect of the climbing community. But his journey was neither smooth nor easy.

His first hurdle was securing enough money for permits, gear, filming, transportation, and supplies for his entire expedition. To get 'Project Possible' off the ground, Purja took a second mortgage against his house. “More than the climbing, the money was always the biggest challenge," he says. "I was raising funds, climbing, doing the logistics, leading the whole expedition, PR and management of my social accounts and the film direction; all at the same time."

Purja says his experience as a 'Gurkha,' a Nepalese soldier recruited into the British Army, is what helped prepare his body and mind for the brutal nature of the mountains. He was the first person from Nepal to be accepted into the Special Boat Service, a special forces team that is the British equivalent of the American Seal Team 6.

“The selection process for the special forces takes six months and if you want to join the SBS, there’s another 12 weeks of training,” Purja says. “After you go through this, it can make you feel invincible, like you can do anything. The mountain puts things into perspective.”

While in the mountains, there were many challenges — dangerous weather conditions, logistical nightmares, a traffic jam on Everest, and fellow climbers who needed rescuing. Through it all, he leaned on his experience as a soldier, his love for climbing, and his unshakeable self-belief that he wanted to accomplish this for himself, his family, and his community.

"I hope it will be an eye-opener for many people, not only for people in Nepal but for young kids and people around the world," he says.

Purja says life is absurd, but if you fill it with ideas, enthusiasm, and joy, nothing is impossible. Remember, he says, "sometimes, the idea that you come up with may seem impossible to the rest of the world. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for you."

Here's what we can learn from one of the most resilient, optimistic, and unshakeable mountaineers of our time.

(Photo Credit: Red Bull)