Girl smashes man’s document by climbing 14 highest mountains in 92 days
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Kristin Harila hopes her mountaineering magic turns into a foothold for different girls seeking to attain their zenith – even when that vacation spot isn’t 29,000 toes skyward.
Harila, 37, reached the summit of Pakistan’s K2 on Thursday — conquering the world’s 14 highest mountains in 92 days, and spectacularly breaking the earlier document of 189 days.
She conquered Everest and a second peak on the identical day, and between April and July moved between Chinese language-controlled Tibet, Nepal and Pakistan along with her Nepali climbing accomplice, Tenjin Sherpa, often known as Lama, to turn into a record-breaker.
The problem of conquering the 14 tallest mountains, the one ones on earth larger than 8,000 meters or 26,246 toes, is among the most troublesome and harmful in mountaineering.
In 2019, Nepali’s Nirmal Purja grew to become the primary particular person to climb the 14 in a single season, however now his 6 month, 6 day document is gone.
Together with her toes again on agency floor, Harila, a Norwegian furnishings govt, hopes her achievement conjures up different younger climbers – particularly girls – to sort out any mountain of their method.
“I hope we will use this undertaking to alter how the business and the group seems at girls climbing,” Harila advised The Put up from Oslo Tuesday. “And hopefully it’ll make it simpler for ladies after me to go climb, get sponsorships and get taken extra severely within the mountains.”
Harila and her Nepali climbing accomplice, Tenjin Sherpa, often known as Lama, began their record-breaking expedition in late April with a summit of Shishapangma, a 26,335-foot peak in China.
Tenjin, a sherpa for Seven Summit Treks, a Kathmandu-based climbing firm, met Harila in March whereas trekking up Manaslu within the Himalayas.
Regardless of a language barrier, the pair “understood one another completely” and shaped a quick bond. They later ventured into Nepal to overcome Mount Everest earlier than succeeding within the closing mountain of their their quest by reaching the highest of K2 amid whiteout circumstances.
“Lama has been tremendous essential and I by no means would’ve made it with out him,” Harila mentioned. “Now we have been an excellent workforce and I’m so blissful we had been in a position to full the undertaking collectively.”
Harila, a former cross-country skier, mentioned the 14 climbs had been filled with harrowing moments and sudden climate, together with avalanches on Everest.
“It’s important to keep centered till you’re down,” she mentioned. “A lot of the accidents occur on the way in which down, so whenever you’re on the summit, you’re solely midway. It’s essential to remain centered and do the job that it’s important to do to get down.”
Harila mentioned circumstances had been particularly brutal on K2, the world’s second highest mountain, which is extensively thought of by climbers to be essentially the most technically difficult peak on the planet.
“We had a really exhausting and difficult time,” Harila mentioned, citing heavy snowfall and a number of other avalanches in the course of the climb. “It’s the climate and the circumstances on the mountain that decides how exhausting it’s.”
Harila “had a reasonably tough time” on Kangchenjunga, a 28,169-foot mountain in Nepal she summited with out fastened ropes. At one level, she and Lama needed to double again after going the mistaken method on the mountain and climb up a second time.
The document has, nonetheless, not been with out controversy. Harila used helicopters to maneuver between base camps for the climbs, reducing journey time considerably.
She additionally used oxygen. Purja, whose document she smashed, is at present making an attempt to climb the 14 peaks with out supplemental air. His first document was utilizing oxygen.
“To do that, it’s important to fly,” Harila mentioned. “However we don’t fly above base camp. We fly between the camps due to time.”
Harila mentioned she makes use of air tanks for security, noting the so-called “dying zone” above 26,000 toes the place climbers don’t get sufficient oxygen of their lungs.
“There’s somewhat misunderstanding about this,” she mentioned. “Should you go and see on the 8,000-meter mountains, greater than 90 % – possibly 95 % – climb with oxygen.”
Harila give up her job in 2019 to climb full time however now needs to make youngsters her point of interest. She hopes her subsequent journey will probably be beginning a household along with her boyfriend, Jens Kvernmo.
“Get the infants,” she joked. “However not any 8,000-meter mountains for now.”
Harila needs her speedy rise within the climbing group to encourage different girls to dream with out limits, particularly as they’re nonetheless seen as “lower than” their male counterparts on mountains, she mentioned.
“I really feel so, but it surely’s altering,” Harila mentioned. “It’s moving into the suitable route and we will see increasingly climbing 8,000-meter mountains, however there’s nonetheless a solution to go for ladies to get the identical sponsorships from the business as males.”
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