Nirmal Purja: The Man Who Changed Himalayan History

Nirmal Purja, known to the world as Nims or Nimsdai, is one of the most remarkable characters in the history of mountaineering. He is a Nepalese mountaineer of Magar ethnicity, best known for being the first climber to reach the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders (peaks above 8,000 metres) in a record time of six months and six days, between April and October 2019. He was a member of the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Army and then the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy’s special forces unit, before becoming a global icon of high-altitude climbing.

Life and Military Career

Nims was born in a small village called Sirdibas in the Myagdi District of Nepal. Born and raised in the shadow of the Himalayas, he had developed a deep sense of the mountains at a young age. His family had a long history of Gurkha service – his father had served in the regiment, as had three older brothers.

He fulfilled his childhood dream in 2003, joining the Gurkha Regiment as a mere 18-year-old. He went on to have a distinguished 16 year military career, including six years with the Gurkhas, before joining the Special Boat Service. “Getting through selection for the UK SBS, a unit that specialises in undercover raids and is one of the most elite in the British military, was an achievement in itself, but to be the first ever Gurkha to do it was something special,” he said. He was a specialist in cold weather warfare and served in the Special Boat Service in all theatres of war in which Britain was engaged during his period of service.

In 2018, realizing he could not give full commitment to both, Purja resigned from the SBS as a Lance Corporal with a substantial army pension, to focus full-time on his high-altitude mountaineering career.

Introduction to Mountaineering

Still in the SBS and on leave, Nims joined an expedition to Everest Base Camp in 2012. His experience made him want to learn to climb and he persuaded his guide to teach him how to ascend. They summited Lobuche East, 6,119-metres, together and Nims was hooked from that moment on.
He made his first eight-thousander ascent on 18 May 2014, summiting Dhaulagiri (8,167 metres) during a 15-day return trip. Two years later, on 13 May 2016, he summit Mount Everest for the first time.

In 2017 Purja led the Gurkha Expedition “G200E” climbing Everest with 13 Gurkhas to mark 200 years of Gurkha service in the British Army.

Project Possible: The Fourteen 8,000ers

At the core of Purja’s mountaineering legacy is Project Possible – his daring plan to conquer all 14 of the world’s mountains over 8,000m in a mere seven months.

Before him, only 40 people had ever summited all fourteen peaks and the previous record time for climbing all of them was just under eight years. Nims achieved the mission in six months and six days, with careful planning and relentless determination, even making four rescue missions during the project, three of them above 8,400 metres.

This accomplishment broke the previous record, pushed the boundaries of human potential in mountaineering, and left an indelible mark in the history of adventure sports. He filmed the whole thing and it came out later as a Netflix documentary.

First Winter Ascent of K2

Project Possible proved Purja’s place in mountaineering history, but the winter ascent of K2 in January 2021 cemented his legend.

Nirmal Purja and nine other Nepali climbers reached the summit of K2 on 16 January 2021, making history as the first winter ascent. Until then K2 was the last 8,000-meter peak remaining to be climbed in winter — an objective widely considered the greatest prize left unclaimed in mountaineering. The climbers, regrouping 10 metres short of the summit, waited, then together, singing Nepal’s national anthem, the 10 climbers made their final strides to the top.

Notably, Purja was the only climber on the expedition to summit without the use of supplemental oxygen.

Additional Records & Milestones

Purja has continued to rewrite the record books long after his original feats:

• He was the first to stand on the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in the space of 48 hours.
• He became the first person to complete the 8,000ers triple header without supplemental oxygen in May 2022, climbing Kanchenjunga, Everest and Lhotse in 8 days, 23 hours and 11 minutes.
• In 2024 he became the fastest person to summit all 14 eight-thousander peaks without supplemental oxygen, completing the feat in 2 years, 4 months and 28 days.
• He was the first person to reach the top of mountains over 8,000 metres a total of 50 times, with the 50th summit being Nanga Parbat – which he described as “the most dangerous climb of my life”, fighting against fierce winds, blue ice and constant rockfall.

Awards, legacy and activism

On June 9, 2018, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Purja a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his exceptional efforts in high-altitude mountaineering. In 2023 he was awarded an honorary degree by Loughborough University for his exceptional military service and record breaking mountaineering achievements.

Purja has also been a vocal advocate for the recognition of the contributions of Nepalese climbers and Sherpas in the global mountaineering community, bringing sustained focus to Nepal’s rich mountaineering heritage.

In 2021, he founded the Nimsdai Foundation, committed to protecting and restoring the sacred mountains of his homeland, and to assisting mountain communities through education, emergency relief and environmental projects.

His story has been shared with audiences worldwide through his memoir, Beyond Possible: One Soldier, Fourteen Peaks — My Life in the Death Zone, and the Netflix documentary, 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, inspiring a generation to believe that human possibility is far wider than we think.