In the end, Kristin Harila of Norway did not receive her coveted permit for Cho Oyu and Shishapangma from Chinese authorities.
The record seeker wrote this morning that “we have left no stone unturned in this process, and have exhausted every possible avenue to make this happen, but unfortunately due to reasons out of our control we were unable to get the permits in time”.
She has decided to head home for now and try to complete her 14×8,000m project next year. She has already done 12 of the 14 peaks.
Originally she wanted to climb all the 8,000s within six months to best Nirmal Purja‘s original 2019 time. But according to Eberhard Jurgalski of 8,000ers.com, Purja did not properly summit Manaslu and Dhaulagiri until two years later. So Harila still has time to become the fastest oxygen- and Sherpa-supported climber to complete all 14.
Harila thanked her Sherpas, Paswdawa Sherpa and Dawa Ongju Sherpa, who helped her on all 12 climbs. She demonstrated that with sufficient logistics and support, a woman can complete this hard circuit faster than anyone had done it before.
“It’s been a rollercoaster with many ups and downs,” she said. “The most difficult part, for sure, has been in between the climbing.”
Kristin Harila in Lukla. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes
