Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila has etched her name in mountaineering history by accomplishing the fastest climb ever recorded by a woman. In an impressive feat, she scaled all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters within a year.
On a Wednesday morning, Harila triumphantly stood atop Mt Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest peak in the world, reaching an elevation of 8,188 meters. This marked the final conquest in her extraordinary journey. Thaneshwor Guragain, the manager at Seven Summit Treks, the outfitter for Harila’s expedition, confirmed that she successfully reached the summit at 11:35 am.
Guragain proudly declared, “Kristin now holds the title of the fastest woman to conquer all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.” Previously, the record was held by Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar, who took eight years and three months to achieve this remarkable feat.
According to 8000ers.com, a website that maintains records and statistics related to summit accomplishments, out of the 56 climbers who have claimed to summit all 14 peaks, six of them are women. Lizarribar became the first woman to achieve this milestone in May 2010, followed by South Korean climber Oh Eun-sun in April 2010. However, Eun-sun’s claim to have ascended Kanchenjunga was disputed and ultimately rejected by the Korean Alpine Federation.
Other remarkable women mountaineers who conquered the 14 eight-thousander peaks include Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, who completed the climbs in August 2011, and Italian mountaineer Nives Meroi, who achieved the feat in May 2017. Most recently, Chinese climber Dong Hong-Juan accomplished this remarkable feat on April 26, 2023.
During her ascent of Mt Cho Oyu, Harila was accompanied by two Sherpas named Ngima Rita and Tenjen Sherpa (Lama). It is worth noting that although Mt Cho Oyu is located in Nepal, the climb is usually approached from the Tibetan side due to the lack of suitable routes from the Nepali side.
Harila’s ambitious goal was to summit all 14 peaks in less than six months, aiming to break the record set by Nirmal Purja. However, she encountered an obstacle in the form of unavailability of climbing permits from the Tibetan authorities, according to mountaineering officials. In 2019, Purja had set a world record by completing the ascent of all 14 peaks in just six months and seven days, shattering the previous record of seven years.
