Apps

Nirmal Purja — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Project Possible 14/7

With a plan to complete all 14 eight-thousanders in seven months, Purja summited the first mountain on 23 April 2019 and completed the first six-summit phase of his "Project Possible 14/7" on 24 May 2019: Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kangchenjunga, Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu. He climbed with Sherpas Mingma Gyabu "David" Sherpa, Lakpa Dendi (Zekson Son), Geljen Sherpa and Tensi Kasang, among other mountaineers. The last five summits were climbed in only 12 days. He broke his previous Guinness World Record by climbing Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within 2 days and 30 minutes.

Purja completed the second phase in July 2019, climbing Nanga Parbat (8126 m, 3 July), Gasherbrum I (8080 m, 15 July), Gasherbrum II (8034 m, 18 July), K2 (8611 metres, 24 July) and Broad Peak (8047 m, 26 July), all in Pakistan.

The third and final phase began in September 2019. He summitted Cho Oyu (8188 m, Tibet) on 23 September and Manaslu (8163 m, Nepal) on 27 September. On 1 October 2019, Chinese authorities granted Purja and his team a special permit to climb Shishapangma (8027 m, Tibet, China) in the autumn season, at the request of the Nepali government. Purja left Nepal for Tibet on 18 October 2019, leading a five-member expedition, and completed Project Possible 14/7 with a successful summit on 29 October using supplemental oxygen.

Research published in 2022 noted that during Project 14/7, Purja had stopped at the rocky fore summit of Dhaulagiri and at the ridge point on Manaslu.

In addition to the fastest ascent of the 14 tallest mountains with supplemental oxygen, Purja broke several further records: most 8,000 m mountains climbed in the spring season (six); most 8,000 m in the summer season (five); fastest summit of the three highest mountains in the world, (Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga; fastest summit of the five highest mountains in the World, Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu); fastest lower 8000ers, (Gasherbrum I, II, and Broad Peak); and fastest higher 8,000ers, with consecutive summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in 48 hours (beats his own previous record of five days).

During Project Possible in May 2019, a photo taken by Purja of overcrowding on Everest went viral and was published in The New York Times.

Project Possible was documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, released on 29 November 2021.

Personal life

Nirmal Purja was widely known as Nimsdai, with dai meaning "elder brother" in Nepali. Purja was of Magar descent and was raised Hindu. His family had longstanding ties to the Brigade of Gurkhas. His father served in the Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army, while three of his older brothers served as Gurkha soldiers. His mother came from a farming background. Purja described becoming a Gurkha as his principal childhood ambition, following the example set by his father and brothers.

In 2006, he married Suchi Purja, the daughter of a Gurkha soldier, who worked in dentistry. The couple settled in Eastleigh, near Southampton, and had one daughter. Suchi appeared alongside her husband in connection with his mountaineering career, including in the documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, which portrayed the effect that his expeditions and ambitions had on their family life.

Purja's decision to leave the Special Boat Service and pursue mountaineering full-time involved substantial personal and financial risks. By leaving the military in 2018, he gave up the prospect of receiving a full military pension, which he described as a life-changing amount of money. After struggling to obtain sufficient sponsorship for Project Possible, he remortgaged the family home to help finance the expedition.

Purja later said that when he flew from Heathrow to Kathmandu to begin the project, he had secured only about 15 per cent of the total funding required. He described the year preceding the expedition as being dominated by fundraising attempts rather than physical preparation and said that repeatedly being rejected by potential sponsors caused considerable stress.

The documentary 14 Peaks also depicted tensions within his family during Project Possible. His wife was concerned about the dangers he faced, his mother was experiencing serious health problems, and one of his older brothers opposed his decision to leave a secure military career to pursue the project. The Guardian described these circumstances, together with the pressure of sponsorship commitments and the second mortgage on his home, as an important part of the personal struggle behind the expedition.

While serving in the armed forces, Purja studied at Loughborough University, obtaining a postgraduate diploma in security management. In December 2023, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his military service and mountaineering achievements.