14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

Fight

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Title: 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

Genre: Documentary

Director: Torquil Jones

Cast: Nirmal Purja, Jimmy Chin, Reinhold Messner, Klára Kolouchová, Conrad Anker

Release: 2021-11-12

Runtime: 101

Plot: In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

 

Fight

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#1 documentary on Netflix. He was a guest on Joe Rogan, but I recommend watching the movie first, before listening to the podcast.
 
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Aychamo BanBan

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I love this shit. My true dream is an everest base camp hike... Just dont want to go alone so waiting on Gf schedule to work. If not next year then I go alone. This dude is insane... K2, holy shit. I saw his viral Everest pic on Facebook.

My true dream in life .... move to Nepal, run a teahouse for the trekkers to everest.........
 

Ambiturner

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For someone that doesn't know shit about climbing, what is it that makes doing 14 of them in 7 months so difficult?
 

Fight

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Here is a great wiki page: Eight-thousander - Wikipedia

This guy's goal was to do all 14 in a 7 month span, whereas the previous record was 7 years & 310 days.

The peaks are located in China, Nepal, and Pakistan which can be difficult countries to travel in and out of.

The cost was about $2m, which included travel, equipment, food, etc.

It is incredibly dangerous. Death comes in the form of exposure, oxygen depravation, avalanches, & fall accidents. The following %'s are deaths for every successful ascent:
  1. Annapurna is the deadliest mountain (31.9%)
  2. K2 (26.5%)
  3. Nanga Parbat (20.3%)
  4. Dhaulagiri (15.4%)
  5. Kangchenjunga (14.1%)
  6. Manaslu (9.8%)
  7. Gasherbrum I (8.7%)
  8. Makalu (8.6%)
  9. Shishapangma (8.3%)
  10. Broadpeak (5.2%)
  11. Everest (3.9%)
  12. Lhotse (2.8%)
  13. Gasherbrum II (2.3%)
  14. Cho Oyu as the safest at (1.4%)
Even if you are the most physically fit, most of these treks are so grueling that most professional climbers wouldn't attempt more than 1 or 2 a year. And even the most well prepared climbers can never control weather patterns or avalanches that are certain death.
 
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Grim1

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Watched this a few weeks back. Excellent. Top notch guy and climber. Great team too.
 

Fucker

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Here is a great wiki page: Eight-thousander - Wikipedia

This guy's goal was to do all 14 in a 7 month span, whereas the previous record was 7 years & 310 days.

The peaks are located in China, Nepal, and Pakistan which can be difficult countries to travel in and out of.

The cost was about $2m, which included travel, equipment, food, etc.

It is incredibly dangerous. Death comes in the form of exposure, oxygen depravation, avalanches, & fall accidents. The following %'s are deaths for every successful ascent:
  1. Annapurna is the deadliest mountain (31.9%)
  2. K2 (26.5%)
  3. Nanga Parbat (20.3%)
  4. Dhaulagiri (15.4%)
  5. Kangchenjunga (14.1%)
  6. Manaslu (9.8%)
  7. Gasherbrum I (8.7%)
  8. Makalu (8.6%)
  9. Shishapangma (8.3%)
  10. Broadpeak (5.2%)
  11. Everest (3.9%)
  12. Lhotse (2.8%)
  13. Gasherbrum II (2.3%)
  14. Cho Oyu as the safest at (1.4%)
Even if you are the most physically fit, most of these treks are so grueling that most professional climbers wouldn't attempt more than 1 or 2 a year. And even the most well prepared climbers can never control weather patterns or avalanches that are certain death.
It is crazy how good these people are. A top climber would sometimes drop by the climbing wall. He did the 5.10 section on the wall in bunny boots and didn't work up a sweat.
 

dizzie

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For someone that doesn't know shit about climbing, what is it that makes doing 14 of them in 7 months so difficult?

You need to be amazingly fit, recover super fast and climb in less than ideal conditions, taking risks you’d probably not normally take. These mountains are brutal in less than ideal conditions, imperfect conditions add to the workload massively when climbing.

There’s a reason why you see 50-100 people on the summit of Everest in one or two days. Those weather windows are rare as mountains this high attract weather systems and the weathers generally terrible most of the time. Everyone races for the summit from the high camps on the best day, normally it’s a 24-36 hour window of clear, cold weather.

People regularly spend 3-4 months at K2 low camps waiting on weather windows, some seasons there’s been zero attempts and zero summits as it’s a fools errand to try and climb it in less than ideal conditions. K2 is notorious in climbing circles cause of the weather, -50 and 100mph winds are common occurrences and all the tech in the world won’t help you any if you get caught in that up high, lots of climbers have died hunkering down in tents there.

Incredible feat of endurance by this guy, but I still think Kukuczka is the greatest climber than ever lived. His achievements are just beyond belief and that’s saying a lot considering Messner was his main rival. His climbs were much, much harder than Messners, K2 south face/traverse for example has never been repeated and he did a few 8000m peaks in winter which is incredible for the time.


If you’re unaware of who he is and what he achieved, watch Jurek:

 

Aychamo BanBan

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You need to be amazingly fit, recover super fast and climb in less than ideal conditions, taking risks you’d probably not normally take. These mountains are brutal in less than ideal conditions, imperfect conditions add to the workload massively when climbing.

There’s a reason why you see 50-100 people on the summit of Everest in one or two days. Those weather windows are rare as mountains this high attract weather systems and the weathers generally terrible most of the time. Everyone races for the summit from the high camps on the best day, normally it’s a 24-36 hour window of clear, cold weather.

People regularly spend 3-4 months at K2 low camps waiting on weather windows, some seasons there’s been zero attempts and zero summits as it’s a fools errand to try and climb it in less than ideal conditions. K2 is notorious in climbing circles cause of the weather, -50 and 100mph winds are common occurrences and all the tech in the world won’t help you any if you get caught in that up high, lots of climbers have died hunkering down in tents there.

Incredible feat of endurance by this guy, but I still think Kukuczka is the greatest climber than ever lived. His achievements are just beyond belief and that’s saying a lot considering Messner was his main rival. His climbs were much, much harder than Messners, K2 south face/traverse for example has never been repeated and he did a few 8000m peaks in winter which is incredible for the time.


If you’re unaware of who he is and what he achieved, watch Jurek:



You clearly know some shit. Have you ever done any of these types of climbs, or been out there?

I was all set for a Everest basecamp hike but then COVID happened and Nepal had a 2 week mandatory quarantine, etc. It's still a mess there, but looking like it may be doable in May or wait until next year.

To be clear, I'm only looking at one of the 11-14 day hikes to the base camp. I think it would be amazing to do the Kathmandu -> Lukla flight, then start the hike, see the monasteries, Namche Bazaar, see all the tea houses up in the mountains where nothing grows, pee and shit in awful conditions, eat dal bhat, drink a nepalese beer with a local, all while staring up at Everest towering over everything, then finish up with a hike to the Everest basecamp (which is less than 2,000 feet lower than the *summit* of Kilimanjaro). My biggest problem is the 2+ weeks off work I need to fly there and do all this shit.
 

CaughtCross

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You clearly know some shit. Have you ever done any of these types of climbs, or been out there?

I was all set for a Everest basecamp hike but then COVID happened and Nepal had a 2 week mandatory quarantine, etc. It's still a mess there, but looking like it may be doable in May or wait until next year.

To be clear, I'm only looking at one of the 11-14 day hikes to the base camp. I think it would be amazing to do the Kathmandu -> Lukla flight, then start the hike, see the monasteries, Namche Bazaar, see all the tea houses up in the mountains where nothing grows, pee and shit in awful conditions, eat dal bhat, drink a nepalese beer with a local, all while staring up at Everest towering over everything, then finish up with a hike to the Everest basecamp (which is less than 2,000 feet lower than the *summit* of Kilimanjaro). My biggest problem is the 2+ weeks off work I need to fly there and do all this shit.

I have done some glacier mountaineering. Done Mount Rainier and Mount Baker twice. If you are interested in this stuff highly recommend doing a Rainier trip. It is like a mini Everest and an amazing experience being on a glacier covered mountain.

Do something like this in May when it is more snow covered and it will be something you really like if you are interested in Everest. Plus you actually get to summit and be on glaciers vs an Everest base camp hike. Not to mention less time and cost vs an the basecamp hike.
 
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CaughtCross

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Some pictures from my Rainier and Baker climbs. If your interested in this stuff. Doing these climbs will really help you understand how Mountaineering works
 
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Big Phoenix

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dizzie

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You clearly know some shit. Have you ever done any of these types of climbs, or been out there?

I was all set for a Everest basecamp hike but then COVID happened and Nepal had a 2 week mandatory quarantine, etc. It's still a mess there, but looking like it may be doable in May or wait until next year.

To be clear, I'm only looking at one of the 11-14 day hikes to the base camp. I think it would be amazing to do the Kathmandu -> Lukla flight, then start the hike, see the monasteries, Namche Bazaar, see all the tea houses up in the mountains where nothing grows, pee and shit in awful conditions, eat dal bhat, drink a nepalese beer with a local, all while staring up at Everest towering over everything, then finish up with a hike to the Everest basecamp (which is less than 2,000 feet lower than the *summit* of Kilimanjaro). My biggest problem is the 2+ weeks off work I need to fly there and do all this shit.

Done a fair bit of climbing in the UK, Alps etc. Done a bunch of 6000m high treks and summits (ice work, rope work) in Nepal and South America. The highest I’ve peaked is 6500m which was Mera in Nepal. Done Annapurna circuit twice and been on a bunch of treks all over.

For sheer beauty I’d recommend The Annapurna Circuit over the Everest BC trek. There’s a lot of nice vantage points on the route and there really isn’t on Everest bc trip, from the China side it’s much more impressive. Pokhara has Fishtail mountain (Machapuchare) as a view, it’s stunning everywhere around that area.

I’m probably competent enough to do Cho Oyu, spoke to a guide about doing it in 2010-11 and would have been accepted given my experience level (it’s generally accepted as the easiest start point for 8000m peaks and isn’t overly technical). It’s just about risk v reward, the reward wasn’t really worth the risk for me personally. I have had the same climbing partner for 25 years and he wouldn’t go due to family and risk and I’m not gonna attempt even an easy 8000m peak without someone I know I can trust if things go south. If I was gonna fork over that kind of cash now, I’d just do a trek to K2 base and spend some time there messing about in the lower Karakoram instead. Nothing in the mountains is worth dying for ultimately.

One major factor that worries me about 8000m peaks is altitude sickness, actually had a bout of this on a high trek at 6000m (after acclimatising for a couple weeks) and it just fucks you, I just couldn’t move my arse or brain for love nor money. Got down fine in the end after much coca tea but it‘s super easy to see why people just end up walking off a face accidentally, slipping or just making errors that cost you. One thing you need all the time on mountains is 100% focus on yourself, the people around you and the environment. Get that shit at 8000m and your just gonna sit and die tbh.

You should go, Nepal is seriously amazing and a great country to visit. It’s still very primitive, you’ll be shitting in a hole in the ground once you get out the cities etc so be prepared for that. Nowhere near as bad as India though.

Ill post some pics when I get a chance.
 
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Vandyn

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I watched this a month or so ago and the guy is amazing. The 7 month timeframe is insane and some of the challenges were logistics issues that was out of his control (ones in China for example). I thought it was a nice story that his mom survived long enough to see him complete the challenge.
 

Aychamo BanBan

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Done a fair bit of climbing in the UK, Alps etc. Done a bunch of 6000m high treks and summits (ice work, rope work) in Nepal and South America. The highest I’ve peaked is 6500m which was Mera in Nepal. Done Annapurna circuit twice and been on a bunch of treks all over.

For sheer beauty I’d recommend The Annapurna Circuit over the Everest BC trek. There’s a lot of nice vantage points on the route and there really isn’t on Everest bc trip, from the China side it’s much more impressive. Pokhara has Fishtail mountain (Machapuchare) as a view, it’s stunning everywhere around that area.

I’m probably competent enough to do Cho Oyu, spoke to a guide about doing it in 2010-11 and would have been accepted given my experience level (it’s generally accepted as the easiest start point for 8000m peaks and isn’t overly technical). It’s just about risk v reward, the reward wasn’t really worth the risk for me personally. I have had the same climbing partner for 25 years and he wouldn’t go due to family and risk and I’m not gonna attempt even an easy 8000m peak without someone I know I can trust if things go south. If I was gonna fork over that kind of cash now, I’d just do a trek to K2 base and spend some time there messing about in the lower Karakoram instead. Nothing in the mountains is worth dying for ultimately.

One major factor that worries me about 8000m peaks is altitude sickness, actually had a bout of this on a high trek at 6000m (after acclimatising for a couple weeks) and it just fucks you, I just couldn’t move my arse or brain for love nor money. Got down fine in the end after much coca tea but it‘s super easy to see why people just end up walking off a face accidentally, slipping or just making errors that cost you. One thing you need all the time on mountains is 100% focus on yourself, the people around you and the environment. Get that shit at 8000m and your just gonna sit and die tbh.

You should go, Nepal is seriously amazing and a great country to visit. It’s still very primitive, you’ll be shitting in a hole in the ground once you get out the cities etc so be prepared for that. Nowhere near as bad as India though.

Ill post some pics when I get a chance.

Thank you for writing this. I haven’t got to research it much, but I looked, at your suggestion, and the company I was going to use for the EBC hike has multiple Annapurna circuit hikes including several to the Annapurna BC too. Time for me to do some research!
 

Dandain

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Don't forget, these are the bad motherfuckers who set the routes. They ain't getting guided. Documentary is incredible. Nothing in the States compares to the altitude of the 14 he climbed.

Rainer is a real climb - but its 14,411′ - highest in the PNW.

Most human bodies cannot even begin to operate at these altitudes.

Consider this.

Need for cabin pressurization — On commercial aircraft, the cabin altitude must be maintained at 8,000 feet (2,400 m) or less.

The airport to climb Everest is 9,334 ft (2,845 m).

  1. Everest 8848m / 29028ft
  2. KS 8611m / 28250ft
  3. Kanchenjunga 8586m / 28169ft
  4. Lhotse 8516m / 27940ft
  5. Makalu 8463m / 27766ft
  6. Cho Oyu 8201m / 26906ft
  7. Dhaulagiri 8167m / 26795ft
  8. Manaslu 8163m / 26781ft
  9. Nanga Parbat 8125m / 26660ft
  10. Annapurna I 8091m / 26545ft
  11. Gasherbrum I 8068m / 26469ft
  12. Broad Peak 8047m / 26400ft
  13. Gasherbrum II 8035m / 26362ft
  14. Shishapangma 8012m / 26285ft
So this dude and his dudes are some high altitude adapted supermen.
 
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Tearofsoul

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I just want to give you a more completed perspective about this, although Nirmal did NOT use supplemental oxygen to summit K2 in winter world first after he finished his 14x8000 project, he DID in fact use supplemental oxygen on all his 14x 8000 project.

I am not saying his 14x8000 project was not impressive, but there are reasons why he was able to do this in such short duration compare to others. There are day and night differences between climbing with and without supplemental oxygen above 8000 meters. Climbing without supplemental oxygen requires much higher fitness level, much longer acclimatization process before the climb, and definitely longer time to recover after the climb. Last but not least, it is much more dangerous without supplemental oxygen because the brain can't think clearly lack of oxygen, you make a simple mistake you die, also much easier to lose fingers and toes because of lack of oxygen.

These are all from years of climbing and first hand experiences. I climbed Cho Oyu in 2016 and Everest in 2018, both with supplemental oxygen.

Cho Oyu summit
_DSC0205.png


Everest summit
everest-33b.png
 
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Aychamo BanBan

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I just want to give you a more completed perspective about this, although Nirmal did NOT use supplemental oxygen to summit K2 in winter world first after he finished his 14x8000 project, he DID in fact use supplemental oxygen on all his 14x 8000 project.

I am not saying his 14x8000 project was not impressive, but there are reasons why he did this in such short duration compare to others. There are day and night differences between climbing with and without supplemental oxygen above 8000 meters. Climbing without supplemental oxygen requires much higher fitness level, much longer acclimatization process before the climb, and definitely longer time to recover after the climb. Last but not least, it is much more dangerous without supplemental oxygen because the brain can't think clearly lack of oxygen, you make a simple mistake you die, also much easier to lose fingers and toes lack of oxygen.

These are all from years of climbing and first hand experiences. I climbed Cho Oyu in 2016 and Everest in 2018, both with supplemental oxygen.

Cho Oyu
View attachment 404273

Everest
View attachment 404274

That's crazy man. Congratulations, I envy you big time. It's taking me years to get the time/etc just to do the everest basecamp hike. Did you summit everest?

Can you describe your fitness level before attempting everest? Did you live at sea level or at altitude (at your normal baseline)? Like were you super fit, running marathons, or what?
 

Tearofsoul

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Thanks! Yes both pic were taken from the summit. It was cloudy on Cho Oyu so unfortunately you are not able to see much. You can actually see Cho Oyu on my Everest summit pic, its the tallest one on top left (far into the background)

Before everest, I've climbed Cho Oyu as my first 8000, Denali twice, and many 5000-6000 peaks in the Andes (Peru,Ecuador). I keep a training log so between 2017 and April 2018, I put over 400 hours into training living at sea level, I don't run at all but gain elevation with a heavy pack (35-40 pound), I accumulated about 190000 feet elevation gain(not counting coming down) during that training period before shipping out to Nepal.

With supplemental oxygen, it did not feel like a 8000 peak at all on Everest. I can imagine climbing it without O2 but it requires 2x-3x amount of training/fitness level. That's what I am trying to point out, while many trying to do their 14x8000 for years without supplemental oxygen. Doing so with supplemental oxygen in 7 months is very much doable if weather corporate.
 
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