KRISTIN HARILA, A NORWEGIAN CLIMBER MAKES A RECORD OF 14 PEAKS. SHE SCALED SIX SUMMITS EXCEEDING 8,000 METERS WITHIN THE PAST TWO MONTHS, INCLUDING EVEREST.
KATHMANDU: A Norwegian climber makes a record for reaching the world’s 14 highest summits. That too, in the fastest time possible. This is a part of her mission to transform the way the climbing world views female athletes.
Kristin Harila, a Norwegian Climber, makes a record of 14 peaks and successfully climbed six summits above 8,000 metres (26,250 ft) within the past two months, including Everest.
The 36-year-old aspires to equal or beat Nepali explorer Nirmal Purja’s record. This was the 2019 record of six months and six days. It shattered the previous record and was highlighted in a famous Netflix documentary.
“It’s always been powerful manly males venturing off climbing mountains. In history and up to the present.” Harila told Reporters this week.
“People who not involved in this sport feel that men are much more proficient than women. If we want to alter, we must draw attention and demonstrate that women are just as skilled as males.”
In the elite rank of the sport, male hikers and guides outweigh female hikers and guides. Only a few female mountaineers receive praise and finance for their ventures.
As per Nepali official data, only about a fifth of the nearly thousand hikers who toured Nepal’s famous Himalayan peaks this year were women.
Harila’s first significant ascent was on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in 2015. However she made news last year. This was when she became the fastest woman to travel between the summits of Everest and Mount Lhotse in Nepal.
She completed the task in 12 hours last year, but this year she beat her own time by four hours.
Neither record, however, was enough to persuade significant sponsors to support her current quest.
“There are lots of girls and women who want to hike, but they want corporate sponsorship,” she explained.
“It’s simpler for the companies to trust what the males portray.”
Bremont Watches and other brands helped the former cross-country skier. Yet she still had to sell her flat to finance the venture, she added.
‘INSPIRE WOMEN’
Only about 40 people in history are seen climb all 14 of the world’s peaks that rise above 8,000 meters.
Nirmal Purja had an unmatched 2019 expedition. He shattered Poland’s Jerzy Kukuczka’s mark – 7 years, 11 months, and 14 days for completing the task using supplemental oxygen. He set this in the 1980s.
Harila stated that the Nepali hiker was a “motivation.”
“However, it is not a contest for me. This is unconcerning for me,” she continued.
Despite this, she hiked her first six summits in 29 days. Her Nepali guides Pasdawa and Dawa Ongju Sherpa assisted her, shattering Purja’s previous record.
“She is a formidable climber with a strong will to succeed. The first part broke all previous records. “Harila’s trip organizer, Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, reported g AFP.
As she gathers more funding for the mission, the crew is preparing to leave for Pakistan to hike their next five summits. This includes K2 and the 8,126 metres (26,660 foot) Nanga Parbat.
Harila’s program, according to Maya Sherpa, head of the Everest Summiteers Association, is a laudable effort. That is, to introduce more women into the male-dominated mountaineering field.
“It’s essential for climbers like her to lead by example,” Sherpa remarked.