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Norwegian Woman Racing to Climb World’s 14 Highest Mountains

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, arrives after summiting Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The Norwegian is aiming to be the fastest climber to scale all the world's 14 highest mountains. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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Norwegian Woman Racing to Climb World’s 14 Highest Mountains

A Norwegian woman is trying to become the fastest climber to make it to the top of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

Kristin Harila has already climbed eight of them in 40 days. The 37-year-old said Tuesday she has set a new goal of climbing all 14 peaks in three months. That is two times faster than her initial goal.

The 14 highest mountains are those higher than 8,000 meters. Harila is trying to beat the 2019 record set by a male climber, who climbed all 14 peaks in just over six months.

Harila hopes to climb Mount Manaslu in Nepal in the next few days. After that, she will try the five remaining peaks in the Karakorum mountains of Pakistan. This includes K2, the second- highest mountain in the world. K2 is considered more difficult and dangerous than Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.

In this file photo taken on March 26, 2020, the Himalayan Mount Everest (C-L) and other mounts ranges are pictured from Namche Bazar in the Everest region, some 140 kms northeast of Kathmandu.

“I believe we can do it, if we do Manaslu now and the five in Pakistan, we can do in three months,” Harila said.

“We are very happy we have made eight and we are all safe and everyone is good,” she added.

Harila began her effort in April by climbing Mount Shishapangma in China. She then climbed other peaks in China as well as in Nepal, including Everest. Her latest climb was Nepal’s Mount Annapurna on June 5.

Her climb of Annapurna was unusually late in the spring climbing season. Most teams had already left the mountains. That is because it was close to the arrival of summer rains and snow.

“It was very nice but very difficult to climb Annapurna alone. No one was around, it was different. When there is lot of people it is much easier,” she said.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, right, and her guide Tenjen Sherpa pose for a photograph in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The Norwegian who is aiming to be the fastest climber to scale all the world's 14 highest mountains announced she is shortening her goal and do it in half the time than initial target. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

The current record is held by Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born British citizen. He climbed the 14 highest peaks in 189 days in 2019.

Purja’s climbs were later made into a popular Netflix documentary called “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.”

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Binaj Gurubacharya wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

peak -n. a mountain or the top of a mountain

initial -adj. first or beginning

documentary -n. a nonfiction film about an event, person, or situation

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