Nimsdai’s Project Possible: 14 Peaks

Nirma Purja
Image Source: Nimsdai

Lots of people have reached the top of the world ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first put their human steps on the summit of Mt. Everest. It was no less a giant step for mankind than the one that Neil Armstrong put on the moon in 1969. Now take all the 14 giant peaks standing tall above 8,000 meters and think about leaving marks on their summits in less than a year.

Seems impossible, right!?

Even the most experienced climbers will toss off this idea as being ridiculous and unattainable. The first world record for climbing all 14 peaks is held by Reinhold Andreas Messner that took him 16 years to accomplish. To beat that record, you should be either a Yeti or crazy.

Finally, there is someone who was crazy enough to give up everything and put his life at stake to make it happen. No, he is neither Yeti nor crazy. All right, he may be a little crazy to come up with this idea. He is our own Nimsdai.

Who Is Nimsdai?

First of all, Nimsdai is from Nepal. His real name is Nirmal Purja, but Nimsdai is so catchy! So, let’s just call him that. Before he took up mountaineering as a passion and career, he was in British Army. Later, he qualified as special forces in the British Navy, the first Gurkha to accomplish that feat. But it was not enough for him. He wanted to challenge him and mankind.

In 2018, he walked away from the British military service to pursue a full-time mountaineering career, starting with Project Possible 14/7. The plan was to summit all the 14 peaks above 8000 meters within seven months.

Getting Started With Project Possible

It was not easy for Nimsdai to start his Project Possible. The first problem was in funding. Mountaineering is a costly passion. He tried everything from crowdfunding to seeking sponsors for his project. Things were hopeless at times. He faced rejections and disappointments. Nimsdai and his life partner Suchi took a bold decision to put everything on the line and remortgaged their house.

He divided Project Possible into three phases. In Phase I, he would summit all six 8000er peaks in Nepal. In Phase II, he would go to Pakistan to take over five deadly peaks. Finally, in Phase III, he would climb the remaining three peaks, two of which were in Tibet. Here’s a phase-wise breakdown of his conquers.

Phase I: Nepal (April-May 2019)

Annapurna (8091 m): 23 April 2019

Dhaulagiri (8167 m): 12 May 2019

Kangchenjunga (8586 m): 15 May 2019

Everest (8848 m): 22 May 2019

Lhotse (8516 m): 22 May 2019

Makalu (8163 m): 24 May 2019

Phase II: Pakistan (July 2019)

Nanga Parbat (8125 m): 3 July 2019

Gasherbrum I (8080m): 15 July 2019

Gasherbrum II (8035 m):  18 July 2019

K2 (8614 m): 24 July 2019

Broad Peak (8051 m): 26 July 2019

Phase III: Tibet and Nepal (September-October 2019)

Cho Oyu (8188 m): 23 September 2019

Manaslu (8163 m): 27 September 2019

Shishapangma (8027 m): 29 October 2019

Nimsdai formed a team of hardworking and experienced Sherpa mountaineers who were willing to give risk their lives for Project Possible. For him, they were not just Sherpas. They were Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa, Lakpa Dendi, Geljen Sherpa, and Tensi Kasang, each with specific mountaineering expertise.

Not An Easy Climb

Mountaineering is not for the weak-hearted. It is a physically and mentally tough adventure. Most people who climbed Mt. Everest or other high peaks say that they did it for fun. But take it once again from the veteran Reinhold Messner: It’s not fun!

Traffic Jam on Mt. Everest
Shot by Nimsdai

Remember the infamous photo of “traffic jam” on Mt. Everest that went viral all over the world? It was taken by Nimsdai on his descent from the peak after he fought his way through the mob of 320 climbers. Mt. Everest is a sacred place and a matter of pride for us Nepalese. But the mishandling of the expeditions by the authorities have made the mock out of it. This disheartens me as much as it does to Nimsdai.

Nimsdai and his team not only climbed the peaks but also rescued lives and inspired several hopeless mountaineers to achieve what they gave up on. Mt. K2 is notorious as a killer mountain. When Project Possible reached its base, there were already a few mountaineers who had failed at numerous attempts of making it to the summit. When Nimsdai briefed his plan, nobody wanted to go back up again. The avalanches were frequent and that was not going to change in a snap. One fellow mountaineer even mocked his Project Possible as a “lovely propaganda”. When everyone had given up, he decided to go up there, and he made it happen. It was not an easy climb. But it was worth it. The rest of the 24 climbers followed in his footsteps and made it to the summit of K2 in two days.

"The mountain doesn't say you are black, you are white, you are weak, you are strong. There's one rule for everybody... if you give up, you die!"-Nimsdai

Source: Nimsdai

Everything was going according to the plan, except the last peak: Shishapangma. Nimsdai had to get a permit from the Chinese government but it was already closed for the year. The project’s future seemed uncertain. Professional climber Jimmy Chin remarked that a normal person would have walked away from the project when the Chinese government gave a “hard no” to his request for access to Shishapangma. But not Nimsdai, because he was a fighter. He left no stone unturned. He used social media and political links to get Chinese authorities to approve his request for the expedition. The whole mountaineering community from all over the world came together to make Project Possible happen. Better late than never, China opened up the peak for Nimsdai and his team. It is worth noting that no one had climbed Shishapangma since 2014. The weather was horrendous. But the victory was waiting for his team at the summit of the 14th peak. Project 14/7 Accomplished!

Nothing Is Impossible

14 Peaks is not just any other mountaineering documentary. It is an inspiring story of a fearless Nepali mountaineer who never gave up on his dream. For many, it seemed an impossible quest to summit all 14 peaks above 8000 meters in just seven months. Nimsdai is the living proof that mankind is able to make anything happen. Nothing is impossible.

If you still haven’t watched 14 Peaks, you are missing out a lot. There’s a reason it has been trending on Netflix since it was released on 29 November 2021. It is a proud moment for all Nepalese. Let’s support Nimsdai and his foundation.

© Linking the Myths: Nimsdai’s Project Possible: 14 Peaks in 7 Months