Nirmal "Nims" Purja climbed all 14 of the world's mountains above 8,000 metres in 6 months and 6 days, which is 189 days, during 2019, in a project he called Project Possible. Nims Purja is a Nepali mountaineer, born on 25 July 1983 in Dana village in Myagdi District, who broke a record that had stood for years and became one of the best-known climbers of his generation.
Why Nims Purja's story belongs on a Nepal trek
Nirmal Purja was born in Myagdi District, in the Annapurna region, and he began Project Possible on Annapurna itself. His story starts in the same mountains that trekkers come to Nepal to walk among. The Annapurna Base Camp trek takes you into the heart of the Annapurna range where his record began on 23 April 2019, and the Everest Base Camp trek brings you to the region of the peak that anchors the whole list of 8,000-metre mountains. You walk the valleys, and climbers like Nims go to the summits above them.
Who is Nims Purja?
Nirmal "Nims" Purja is a Nepali mountaineer who set a new record for climbing all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres. Before he was a full-time climber, he served in the British military for years. He left a secure career to attempt something most people thought was impossible. That gamble became Project Possible.
Born on 25 July 1983 in Dana village, Myagdi District, Nims grew up in the hills of central Nepal. Myagdi sits in the Annapurna region, among some of the deep valleys and high peaks that trekkers know well. His early life was far from the world of elite mountaineering he would later enter. The distance he travelled, from a village in Myagdi to the summits of all 14 highest mountains, is a large part of what makes his story land.
Nims Purja and Project Possible in brief
- Born: 25 July 1983 in Dana village, Myagdi District, Nepal
- Feat: all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres in 6 months and 6 days (189 days) in 2019
- Start: Annapurna on 23 April 2019
- Finish: Shishapangma on 29 October 2019
- Previous record: 7 years, 10 months and 6 days, set by Kim Chang-ho of South Korea in 2013
- Winter K2: first winter ascent, 16 January 2021, with an all-Nepali team of 10
Project Possible: 14 peaks in 189 days
Project Possible was Nims Purja's plan to climb all 14 of the 8,000-metre peaks in a single push in 2019. He finished the whole set in 6 months and 6 days, counted by Guinness World Records as 189 days. Some news reports gave the figure as 190 days, a small counting difference, so the record is most often stated as 6 months 6 days, or 189 days. Either way, it was a time no one had come close to before.
On 23 April 2019, Nims started Project Possible on Annapurna, one of the most dangerous of the 8,000-metre peaks. From there he moved from mountain to mountain, month after month, from spring into autumn. On 29 October 2019, he finished on Shishapangma, the last peak on his list. In just over six months he had stood on top of every mountain on Earth above 8,000 metres.
By 29 October 2019, Nims Purja had climbed all 14 of the mountains on Earth that rise above 8,000 metres, the full set that climbers call the eight-thousanders. He had started the list on Annapurna on 23 April and closed it on Shishapangma just over six months later. Before him, no one had linked all 14 into a single season like this. The old idea of the eight-thousanders as a project for a whole climbing life changed in that half-year.
Nims Purja's record against the old one
| Record | Climber | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Previous record (2013) | Kim Chang-ho, South Korea | 7 years, 10 months, 6 days |
| New record (2019) | Nirmal "Nims" Purja, Nepal | 6 months, 6 days (189 days) |
Kim Chang-ho of South Korea had set the previous record in 2013, climbing all 14 peaks in 7 years, 10 months and 6 days. That was already a remarkable achievement, built over most of a decade. Nims cut that down to a little over six months. The size of the jump is why the climbing world took such notice.
For most climbers before 2019, all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres meant many years and many separate expeditions. Kim Chang-ho's 7 years, 10 months and 6 days, set in 2013, was itself the fastest anyone had managed it. Nims Purja's 6 months and 6 days cut that to a fraction and reset what people believed a good plan and a strong body could do together. A record that had grown by years at a time was suddenly measured in days.
From the Gurkhas to the Special Boat Service
In 2003, Nims Purja joined the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, the famous Nepali regiments of the British forces. He served as a soldier and built a career few from his background reach. The Gurkhas have a long and respected history in the British military. For Nims, it was the start of a path that led somewhere unexpected.
In 2009, Nims was selected into the United Kingdom's elite Special Boat Service, the first Gurkha ever to join it. The SBS is one of the most demanding special forces units in the world. Getting in was a major achievement on its own. He later left that military career behind to attempt Project Possible, giving up security for a mountain dream.
The first winter ascent of K2, 16 January 2021
On 16 January 2021, Nims Purja was part of an all-Nepali team of 10 climbers who made the first winter ascent of K2. K2 was the last of the 8,000-metre peaks that had never been climbed in winter. Many strong expeditions had tried and failed over the years. The mountain in winter is one of the hardest and coldest places a climber can go.
The team of 10 Nepali climbers summited K2 together, singing the Nepali national anthem as they reached the top. They had waited just below the summit so they could step onto it as one group, rather than as individuals. It was a moment of national pride for Nepal. Among the team, Nims was the only one who reached the top without supplemental oxygen.
Before 16 January 2021, K2 had held out against every winter expedition sent to climb it. Summer K2 is already known as one of the deadliest of the 8,000ers, and winter piles cold and wind on top of that. The all-Nepali team of 10 changed that record in a single day. That they did it together, as Nepali climbers, gave the achievement a weight beyond the summit itself.
The Netflix film that told the story
On 29 November 2021, the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" was released, telling the story of Project Possible. The film brought Nims Purja's climb to a huge audience who had never followed mountaineering before. It showed the planning and the human cost behind the record. For many viewers, it was the first time they understood what climbing all 14 peaks really takes.
Nims Purja's story has become a landmark for modern Nepali mountaineering. For a long time, Nepali climbers carried loads and fixed ropes while foreign climbers took the headlines. Project Possible and the winter K2 climb put Nepali names at the very front of the sport. Today a new generation of Nepali climbers points to Nims as proof of what is possible.
Since 2019, Nims Purja has become a name that young Nepali climbers grow up hearing. His record of 14 peaks in 189 days and the winter K2 climb of 16 January 2021 sit at the front of a new chapter for Nepal in the mountains. For a country whose climbers once stood in the background of foreign expeditions, that shift matters a great deal. The proud part of the story is that a boy from Dana in Myagdi carried it.
Who is Nims Purja?
Nirmal "Nims" Purja is a Nepali mountaineer, born on 25 July 1983 in Dana village, Myagdi District. In 2019 he climbed all 14 of the world's peaks over 8,000 metres in 6 months and 6 days, a feat he called Project Possible.
How long did Project Possible take?
Project Possible took 6 months and 6 days, counted by Guinness World Records as 189 days. Some media reported 190 days because of a counting difference, but the record is usually given as 6 months 6 days, or 189 days.
What record did Nims Purja break?
Nims Purja broke the record for climbing all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, which had been 7 years, 10 months and 6 days, set by Kim Chang-ho of South Korea in 2013. He started on Annapurna on 23 April 2019 and finished on Shishapangma on 29 October 2019.
Did Nims Purja climb K2 in winter?
Yes, on 16 January 2021 Nims Purja was part of an all-Nepali team of 10 who made the first winter ascent of K2, the last 8,000-metre peak never climbed in winter. The team summited together singing the Nepali national anthem, and Nims was the only member to reach the top without supplemental oxygen.
Is there a film about Nims Purja?
Yes, the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" was released on 29 November 2021 and tells the story of Project Possible. It follows his climb of all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres in 2019.
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