Updated: Purja Gets His Permit; Leaves Shortly

Chinese authorities have officially granted Nirmal Purja a permit to climb Shishapangma (8,013m) this month. The Tibetan peak is currently closed and is the only remaining obstacle in the Nepali’s quest to summit all 14 8000’ers in seven months.

Writing on social media, Purja said: “With a full of mix emotions I feel very humble, thankful and proud today. Finally, my team and I have got the permit to climb Shishapangma.”

Purja and his team will leave for Tibet almost immediately. “We are a strong team and we are very confident [that we will] complete this mission,” he said.

If Purja manages to summit Shishapangma, he will have knocked off over seven years from the previous best times for the 8,000’ers, set by Kim Chang-ho of Korea in 2013 and Jerzy Kukuczka of Poland in 1987.

His torrid 2019 schedule of 8,000’ers:

1. Annapurna – April 23
2. Dhaulagiri – May 12
3. Kanchenjunga – May 15
4. Lhotse – May 22
5. Everest – May 22
6. Makalu – May 24
7. Nanga Parbat – July 03
8. Gasherbrum I – July 15
9. Gasherbrum II – July 18
10. K2 – July 24
11. Broad Peak – July 26
12. Cho Oyu – September 23
13. Manaslu – September 27

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Ash Routen

Ash is an outdoor and adventure writer from the UK. His words have featured in global outlets such as The Guardian, Outside Magazine and Red Bull. He works as a public health scientist by day and writes about the outdoors in his spare time. Ash's areas of expertise are polar expeditions, mountaineering, and adventure travel. For vacation Ash enjoys going on independent sledding expeditions.

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