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Kristin Harila (bottom left) on Shishapangma: At the end of April, the Norwegian reached the summit in Tibet

Photo: Lama Tenjing / AFP

On July 27, the time has come: Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila and her climbing partner Tenjin "Lama" Sherpa are standing on the summit of K2 in Nepal, which is considered the most difficult of the highest mountains in the world. In doing so, they have set a new record. The two needed only three months and one day for all 14 eight-thousanders. The previous record holder, the Nepalese Nirmal "Nims" Purja, managed to do this with his team in six months and six days.

»It's over for now«. Kristin Harila wrote this at the end of October. During her first record attempt, she had already climbed twelve of the peaks, only the two in Tibet, the Cho Oyu and the Shishapangma, were still missing. In Kathmandu, she waited until the last minute for climbing permits from China. "We have left no stone unturned in this process and exhausted all possibilities. But unfortunately, for reasons beyond our control, we were not able to obtain the permits in time," she wrote on Instagram. In doing so, she had to bury her dream of setting a speed record – for the time being.

This year, the 37-year-old started a new attempt. "She Moves Mountains," she called him. This time, the two Tibetan mountains were the first to tackle them. On April 26, it stood on the 8027-meter-high Shishapangma and on May 3 on the 8188-meter-high Cho Qyu. At that time, she was the fifth woman ever to climb all eight-thousanders. This was followed by the seven summits in Nepal, then five in Pakistan with the K2 at the end. This makes Kristin Harila not only the fastest woman, but also one of the fastest people on the highest peaks alongside Lama.

On July 15, the two reached Gasherbrum II – Kristin Harila sends a relieved message from the summit:

Kristin Harila comes from Vardø in the far north of Norway. Her first eight-thousander was Mount Everest, which she climbed in May 2021. For her record attempts, she had convinced some sponsors to subsidize her. Last year, she also sold her apartment in Norway to finance costs such as climbing permits, equipment, flights and a team. Kristin's father says he's proud, "But I'm worried about her, too," and that he's not happy until she's safely off the mountain and back home. And: "I don't think those of us who don't belong to the climbing community understand the full extent of what it has achieved."

More on the subject

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  • All eight-thousanders in six months: Mountaineer has to abandon record attempt

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Her climbing partner Lama from the Nepalese expedition operator Seven Summit Treks started working as a Sherpa at the age of 16. "Lama's invaluable expertise and deep connection to the mountains have contributed significantly to the success," says the success story on Harila's website. »The collaboration between Harila and Lama has shown the essence of the mountaineering community, which transcends borders and cultures to achieve great things together.«

In 40, the now 2019-year-old Nirmal "Nims" Purja and his Nepalese team set the record for the fastest ascent of the eight-thousanders. At the time, they beat the time record set by Kim Chang-Ho of South Korea in 2013, which had taken seven years, eleven months and six days. Five years later, he died in the Himalayas. In 1986, Reinhold Messner was the first person to reach the last of the 14 summits – he achieved this within 16 years without using bottled oxygen.

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