Home News Kristin Harila and Tenjin Sherpa Set New World Record For 14 Peaks

Kristin Harila and Tenjin Sherpa Set New World Record For 14 Peaks

The pair summited K2 this morning, completing all 14 of the world’s highest peaks within three months

Read time 2 mins

Published Jul 26, 2023

BASE editorial team BASE writers and editors who live and breathe adventure every day. We love adventure storytelling as much as we love adventure itself.

Capitalising on a very short weather window on K2 earlier today, Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila and Tenjin ‘Lama’ Sherpa completed the final summit of their 14 Peaks speed record attempt, wrapping up the challenge in just 92 days and setting a new world record. The pair surpassed Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja’s 2019 record of six months and six days, which was the subject of the documentary film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

Harila – who holds multiple high-altitude speed records including the fastest traverse of Everest-Lhotse by a woman – made a bid for the record in 2022, but was forced to concede with just two peaks left to climb after visa issues prevented her and her team from climbing Chop Oyu and Shishapangma from the Tibetan side. Speaking to BASE Magazine earlier this year, the 37 year-old spoke of her determination to show aspiring women mountaineers that they too are capable of greatness in the mountaineering world.

‘We need role models to show younger people, younger girls, that it is possible for them to do it too,’ she said.

Harila was a relative newcomer to the mountaineering world when she set out on her first attempt of the 14 Peaks challenge, with financial struggles and difficulty securing sponsorship meaning that she ultimately sold her flat in Norway in order to fund the trip. This second attempt, dubbed She Moves Mountains, is further testament to Harila’s determination and tenacity, as well as the skill and expertise of her Nepali guide, Lama, who is from the Makalu region of Nepal but lives in Kathmandu.

Lama’s invaluable expertise and profound connection with the mountains have been integral to their success

‘Lama’s invaluable expertise and profound connection with the mountains have been integral to their success in navigating treacherous terrains and facing harsh weather conditions,’ a spokesperson from Harila’s press team said in a statement.

With the completion of the 14 Peaks this year, Kristin has beaten her own previous true summit record of 1 year and 5 days, in just a quarter of her previous time record. It’s believed that Kristin now plans to summit the two peaks that thwarted her last attempt once more, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma, in order to set another record for completing all 14 peaks twice in a year.

A documentary film is currently being made about Kristin’s 14 Peaks record, and you can check out the full tracking data of her final summit, K2, here.

Want to know more about Kristin? Check out this inspiring interview, originally from issue 10 of BASE Magazine.