Nimsdai Makes History: The Story Behind the 50th 8,000-Meter Summit

Nepalese climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja, has made history once again, becoming the first person to successfully summit mountains over 8,000 meters a staggering 50 times. This milestone was reached on July 3, when he ascended Pakistan's notoriously dangerous Nanga Parbat.

A native of Nepal, Purja's journey to becoming a climbing legend is as impressive as his records. He served in the Nepalese Gurkha combat unit before becoming the first-ever Nepali British special forces member in the Special Boat Service (SBS). This military background, combined with his natural Nepali physiology, has been credited with giving him near-superhuman endurance in the mountains. A study by the University of Cambridge confirmed that Nepalese climbers possess unique adaptations to high altitudes, including lower red blood cell counts and higher oxygen affinity in their blood, which allows them to thrive in hypoxic environments.

Purja's climb on Nanga Parbat, his 50th 8,000-meter ascent, was no easy feat. He described it as “the most dangerous climb of my life,” battling fierce winds, blue ice, and constant rockfall. Known as the "Killer Mountain," Nanga Parbat is the ninth-highest mountain in the world and has a significantly higher fatality rate than Mount Everest. Of his 50 successful ascents, 22 were completed without supplemental oxygen, a new record.

Purja is also well known for his 2019 "Project Possible," a historic feat in which he climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in a record-breaking 6 months and 6 days. This incredible achievement was documented in the hit Netflix film "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible". Other notable achievements include nine successful summits of Everest, four of K2, and three of Kangchenjunga. In 2021, he was the only climber on his team to complete the first winter ascent of K2 without supplemental oxygen. For his fearless rescue of a distressed climber in 2016, Queen Elizabeth II also awarded him an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire).

Even with these monumental achievements, Purja is just getting started. He founded the Nimsdai Foundation to support mountain communities through education, emergency aid, and environmental projects. He is currently undertaking his “Hat-Trick Challenge,” which aims to complete the 14 8,000-meter Peaks and Seven Summits for a third time, with all proceeds going to his foundation