The Impossible Made Possible
On October 29, 2019, at 8:58 AM local time, Nirmal "Nims" Purja stood atop Shishapangma, the world's fourteenth-highest mountain at 8,027 meters. The 36-year-old former British Special Forces soldier had just accomplished what mountaineering experts deemed impossible: climbing all fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters in just six months and six days. The previous record, held by South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho, had taken seven years, ten months, and six days.
As Purja planted his flag on the summit, he wasn't just breaking a record—he was rewriting the fundamental assumptions about human endurance, logistics, and what constitutes the outer limits of mountaineering achievement. His "Project Possible" had begun on April 23, 2019, when he summited Annapurna I, and concluded with this moment on Shishapangma's windswept peak. In between, he had navigated geopolitical tensions, visa restrictions, weather windows, and the brutal arithmetic of high-altitude climbing.
By the Numbers
Project Possible
6 months, 6 daysTotal time to complete all 14 peaks
14Peaks above 8,000 meters climbed
7 years, 10 monthsPrevious record by Kim Chang-ho
48 hoursTime between Everest and Lhotse summits
5Peaks climbed in just 48 hours (Nepal phase)
Born in 1983 in Chitwan, Nepal, Purja grew up in a modest farming family in the shadow of the Himalayas. His early life bore little resemblance to the privileged backgrounds of many Western mountaineers. His father was a farmer, his mother a homemaker, and the family's economic circumstances meant that Purja's path to the world's highest peaks would be anything but conventional.
At age 18, Purja made a decision that would define his trajectory: he joined the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas. The Gurkhas, renowned for their courage and mountaineering skills, provided Purja with his first taste of professional military training and, crucially, British citizenship. For six years, he served with distinction, developing the physical conditioning and mental resilience that would later prove essential in the death zone above 8,000 meters.
From Special Forces to Summits
In 2009, Purja achieved what many consider the pinnacle of military service: selection into the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy's elite special forces unit. For the next decade, he operated in some of the world's most dangerous environments, conducting classified missions that honed his ability to function under extreme pressure with minimal resources.
The transition from special forces operator to professional mountaineer wasn't immediate. Purja's first major climbing achievement came in 2012 when he summited Lobuche East (6,119m) in Nepal. It was a modest peak by his later standards, but it ignited a passion that would consume the next decade of his life.
His breakthrough moment came in 2017 when he climbed Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu—three of the world's five highest peaks—in just five days. The achievement garnered attention in mountaineering circles, but Purja was already thinking bigger. Much bigger.
I realized that the only thing standing between me and the impossible was my own belief system. If I could change that, I could change everything.
— Nims Purja
The genesis of Project Possible came from Purja's frustration with the conventional wisdom surrounding high-altitude mountaineering. The established approach to climbing all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks involved years of careful planning, seasonal climbing windows, and gradual acclimatization. Climbers typically tackled one or two peaks per year, allowing for recovery time and optimal weather conditions.
Purja saw inefficiency where others saw prudence. His military background had taught him to think systematically about logistics, risk management, and resource optimization. Why, he wondered, couldn't the same principles that governed special forces operations be applied to mountaineering?
The Architecture of Ambition
In late 2018, Purja began developing what would become Project Possible. The plan was audacious in its scope and precision: climb all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks in seven months, organized into three distinct phases corresponding to different mountain ranges.
Phase One would target the five peaks in Nepal: Annapurna I (8,091m), Dhaulagiri I (8,167m), Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Everest (8,849m), Lhotse (8,516m), and Makalu (8,485m). Phase Two would shift to Pakistan for five peaks in the Karakoram range: Nanga Parbat (8,126m), Gasherbrum I (8,080m), Gasherbrum II (8,034m), K2 (8,611m), and Broad Peak (8,051m). Phase Three would conclude in Tibet with the remaining peaks: Cho Oyu (8,188m), Manaslu (8,163m), and Shishapangma (8,027m).
The logistics were staggering. Purja needed to coordinate climbing permits across three countries, manage weather windows across multiple mountain ranges, and maintain peak physical condition for six consecutive months at altitude. Most challenging of all, he needed funding.
Traditional mountaineering expeditions are expensive, with costs for a single 8,000-meter peak often exceeding $100,000 when factoring in permits, equipment, guides, and logistics. Purja's project would require an estimated $2 million, a sum that would need to be raised largely through crowdfunding and sponsorships.
The mountaineering establishment was skeptical. Many veteran climbers publicly questioned whether the project was even possible, citing the physical impossibility of maintaining peak performance across such an extended period at altitude. Others worried about safety, arguing that the compressed timeline would force dangerous decisions about weather windows and rest periods.
Phase One: The Nepal Gambit
On April 23, 2019, Purja began Project Possible by summiting Annapurna I, widely considered the most dangerous of the fourteen peaks due to its avalanche-prone slopes and unpredictable weather. The choice to start with Annapurna was strategic—if he could conquer the most technically challenging peak first, it would demonstrate the project's viability to skeptics and potential sponsors.
The Nepal phase unfolded with military precision. On May 12, Purja summited Dhaulagiri I. Three days later, he was on top of Kanchenjunga. The rapid succession continued with Everest on May 22, followed by Lhotse just 24 hours later—a feat that required descending from Everest's summit to base camp, then immediately beginning the ascent of the adjacent peak.
People said it was impossible to climb Everest and Lhotse in 48 hours. I didn't see it as impossible. I saw it as a logistics problem that needed solving.
— Nims Purja
The most spectacular achievement of Phase One came on May 24, when Purja summited Makalu, completing five 8,000-meter peaks in just 31 days. To put this in perspective, most climbers consider summiting a single 8,000-meter peak in a season to be a significant achievement.
But Purja's success wasn't just about speed—it was about redefining what was possible in terms of acclimatization and recovery. Traditional mountaineering wisdom holds that climbers need weeks to acclimatize to altitude and recover between major ascents. Purja was demonstrating that with proper conditioning, nutrition, and mental preparation, the human body could perform at levels previously thought impossible.
Phase Two: The Karakoram Crucible
The transition to Pakistan presented new challenges. The Karakoram range, home to K2 and four other 8,000-meter peaks, is notorious for its technical difficulty and unpredictable weather. Unlike the relatively established infrastructure around Nepal's peaks, the Pakistani mountains required more complex logistics and offered fewer safety nets.
Purja arrived in Pakistan in June 2019, but immediately encountered bureaucratic obstacles. Visa delays and permit issues threatened to derail the entire project. For three weeks, he waited in Islamabad while officials processed paperwork, watching precious climbing season slip away.
The delay proved costly in unexpected ways. When Purja finally reached the mountains, he discovered that his primary sponsor had withdrawn funding, citing concerns about the project's timeline and safety protocols. With limited resources and a compressed weather window, he faced a choice: abandon the project or continue with skeleton support.
Purja chose to continue. On July 3, he summited Nanga Parbat, the "Killer Mountain" that had claimed dozens of lives since its first ascent in 1953. Twelve days later, he was atop Gasherbrum I, followed by Gasherbrum II on July 18. The pace was relentless, but Purja maintained his focus on the ultimate goal.
The crown jewel of Phase Two was K2, the world's second-highest peak and arguably its most dangerous. Known as the "Savage Mountain," K2 has a fatality rate of approximately 25%—one death for every four successful summits. The mountain's technical difficulty, combined with its remote location and unpredictable weather, makes it the ultimate test of mountaineering skill.
On July 24, 2019, Purja reached K2's summit, becoming the first person to climb the mountain as part of a speed record attempt on all fourteen peaks. The achievement was particularly significant because K2 had never been climbed in winter, and many experts considered it the most technically demanding of the fourteen peaks.
K2 Statistics
The Savage Mountain
8,611mHeight above sea level
25%Historical fatality rate
377Successful summits as of 2019
91Climbing deaths as of 2019
0Successful winter ascents at time of Purja's climb
Three days after K2, Purja completed Phase Two by summiting Broad Peak. In just 23 days, he had conquered five of the world's most challenging mountains, including the notorious K2. The mountaineering world was beginning to take notice.
Phase Three: The Final Push
The final phase took Purja to Tibet, where three peaks remained: Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Shishapangma. By this point, the physical and mental toll of the project was becoming apparent. Purja had spent nearly five months at or near altitude, pushing his body to limits that few humans had ever tested.
The Chinese bureaucracy presented new obstacles. Climbing permits for Tibet are notoriously difficult to obtain, and the Chinese authorities were initially reluctant to accommodate Purja's compressed timeline. Diplomatic pressure from the British government, combined with growing international media attention, eventually secured the necessary permissions.
On September 23, Purja summited Cho Oyu, followed by Manaslu on September 27. With twelve peaks completed, only Shishapangma remained. The final ascent, however, would prove to be the most challenging from a logistical standpoint.
Shishapangma, located entirely within Tibet, requires special permits that are typically issued only during specific seasons. The Chinese authorities initially indicated that Purja would need to wait until the following spring, effectively ending his record attempt. But international pressure and media attention eventually secured a special permit for October.
The Summit of Possibility
On October 29, 2019, Purja reached the summit of Shishapangma, completing Project Possible in six months and six days. The achievement was immediately recognized as one of the greatest feats in mountaineering history, shattering the previous record by more than seven years.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. Purja's achievement represented a fundamental shift in thinking about human potential and the application of military-style logistics to extreme sports. His success demonstrated that with proper planning, conditioning, and mental preparation, the boundaries of what's considered possible could be dramatically expanded.
The project also highlighted the growing role of Sherpa and high-altitude workers in modern mountaineering. Throughout Project Possible, Purja worked closely with teams of Sherpa climbers, many of whom he credited as essential partners rather than mere support staff. This collaborative approach challenged traditional Western narratives about mountaineering achievement and highlighted the contributions of local climbing communities.
This wasn't just about breaking a record. It was about showing that with the right mindset and preparation, humans can achieve things that seem impossible. That lesson applies far beyond mountaineering.
— Nims Purja
The immediate aftermath of Project Possible brought international recognition and media attention. Netflix acquired the rights to document Purja's achievement, resulting in the 2021 film "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible." The documentary brought his story to a global audience and cemented his status as one of the world's premier mountaineers.
