<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f129c7e80680e0af446jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner in Kathmandu this week. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>At age 77, after having pushed the limits of what a human being can physically achieve, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3251#.Yck5sC8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3251%23.Yck5sC8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw37oxnuMsF1Cvg5h_XDEbr9">Reinhold Messner</a> looks back at a life lived at the edge of life and death, and turns philosophical about the art of mountaineering. Messner started climbing in the Dolomites when he was five. On his first Himalayan climb in 1970, he lost his brother and seven of his toes on Nanga Parbat. In 1978 he climbed the mountain again solo, and became the first person with Peter Habeler to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw35gc9hWKFSjo8YFFTMj48F">summit Mt Everest without bottled oxygen</a>. In 1980, he came back to Everest and solo-ed it too. He went on to climb all of the world’s fourteen 8,000m peaks in 1986. “We go to places we could die, but not die. Traditional mountaineering is the art of not dying,” says Messner, who has just got off a flight from Europe on yet another trip to Nepal that was delayed by the pandemic.People used to fear mountains, they did not approach dangerous places. It was only after the industrial revolution that early British climbers started exploring the Alps and ‘alpinism’ was born to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">test the limits of human skill and endurance.</a>“Mountains are infinite in comparison to our lives,” the Tyrolean climber says. “Up on a mountain we are forced to contemplate eternity. Climbing is a useless activity, as absurd as life itself.” <figure><img width="1028" height="713" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f159c7e80680e0af447jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner has nothing but praise for Nirmal (Nims) Purja, the Nepali climber whose <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2kEvjlTRBQfHD1C_gZ1ifd">ascents of all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders</a> within seven months was featured in a popular Netflix documentary this month.  “I needed 16 years to climb all 14 peaks without oxygen,” says Messner, repeating what he said in the Netflix film. “For this, I give Nirmal great respect, he did it in such a short time. And after this, he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2fV04bVS-2V4FI6fHPcjLg">went back to K2</a> and became the first to climb it in winter. He is not just chatting, he is doing.” Messner worked with Purja to finish his latest book which is out in German, and defends the Nepali climber’s use of helicopters and oxygen for his climbs saying technology had made it possible to fly from one base camp to the other. And Purja’s team was also fixing ropes for others, carrying its own oxygen.  Messner is also glad that Nepalis are finally getting credit for helping western climbers attain the world’s highest peaks – starting with Gurkha porters on Nanga Parbat in 1895, and later with Sherpa guides. “Now, Sherpas and Gurkhas are no longer support staff, they organise expeditions around the world,” says Messner. “I am very happy that after 100 years the Sherpa have the economic possibility to organise their own expeditions.”https://youtu.be/EZBvVMaNYAIMessner then turns to his pet peeve: how <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">alpinism has turned into tourism</a> as hundreds of clients jumar up on fixed ropes to the top of Mt Everest. Indoor climbing walls in gyms also do not cut it for him.“Traditional mountaineering is the art of surviving where you can die, if you take away the possibility of danger, then it is not alpinism,” says Messner with messianic zeal during an interview in Kathmandu with Nepali Times. “Organising a safe infrastructure where someone takes you up and down a mountain is tourism.”Nepal’s economy has now come to be dependent on these large expeditions, aside from the revenue that Nepal collects every year from hefty climbing royalty. A switch to alpine style climbing would mean fewer jobs for expedition support staff.But Messner is a purist when it comes to mountaineering, and besides smaller lighter teams scaling peaks would be less damaging to the environment. He takes the message of pure alpine style climbing around the world through lectures, setting up a string of museums, as well as more films, including the latest semi-autobiographical White Out.   <figure><img width="3095" height="2098" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f179c7e80680e0af448jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner faced criticism for abandoning his brother on Nanga Parbat in 1970, but has often defended himself saying people at sea level should not be passing judgement about decisions of survival at 8,000m. He has made 31 expeditions in his lifetime to eight-thousand metre peaks, 18 of them successful. He dabbled in politics and was a member of the European Parliament for five years before deciding that he did not want to be a professional politician.During this visit to Nepal, Messner will inspect the new Sherpa Himal Museum that he helped build near Namche, adding to other mountain museums he has set up around the world. On Sunday, Messner and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3761#.Yck6ry8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3761%23.Yck6ry8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw39PivMRXCHqH8lSYi4itec">Karna Shakya</a> inaugurated a new high-rise wing of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19686#.Yck63i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19686%23.Yck63i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3edUbHwnR-WPHeH1NRWgk_">Kathmandu Guest House</a> in Thamel, where he has always stayed since his first visit.  <img width="1618" height="1869" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f1b9c7e80680e0af449jpeg.jpg" alt="">We ask Messner why he is so impressed with Nims Purja, when he has been scathing about the young German climber Jost Kolbach who is attempting Mt Everest solo in winter up the west ridge this season. “It is all PR. He has said he has only has 1% chance, if that is so he should stay in the Alps, do smaller things successfully, or climb the challenging six or seven thousanders first.”About this year’s controversy about climbers on the fore-summit of Manaslu, Messner says it is clear which is the true peak, and remembers bringing down a piton in 1972 from an earlier Japanese expedition to the 8,163m summit as proof. But it is less clear which is the true peak on long ridges like Annapurna I, he adds.Messner has also been ridiculed about his belief in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sorting-through-history-for-the-yeti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the yeti</a>. He clarified: “The yeti is logically a bear. It is a legend that is 1,000 years old that came with the migration of Sherpas, and describes a partly-white bear, and early British journalists 120 years ago  spread rumours about the snowman.”  Messner says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-climate-crises-hit-everest-region/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the climate crisis</a> is changing monsoon patterns and the jet stream which is making climbing in the Himalaya more dangerous. He says the whole system is out of balance due to industrialisation, cars and fossil fuels and consumerism. Messner is now helping to give back to the people of the mountains around the world where has climbed all his life, rebuilding hospitals and schools, and supporting students. He says, “After climbing the mountains, I came later to also understand the people, and I am thankful that I can give back to this country with tourism promotion. I owe my climbing success to Nepal."

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What next for Reinhold Messner?

<figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd3089c7e80680e08f946jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Sonu Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks on the top of K2 on 16 January at 5pm. Photo: Seven Summit Treks</figcaption></figure>While their political leaders back home in Kathmandu fought tooth-and-nail for power, ten Nepali climbers from different expeditions decided to work together last week to achieve the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/">first-ever winter ascent of the last 8,000m peak</a>.In a remarkable show of solidarity, ten exhausted Nepali mountaineers waited 10m below the summit for everyone to catch up, and then took the final steps together to the top of K2, singing Nepal’s national anthem in unison.  This unique demonstration of unity put the leaders of Nepal’s ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and other political parties to shame for wasting nearly three years in an endless power struggle that has paralysed governance.Immersed in rancorous name-calling, none of Nepal’s political leaders (except the RPP’s Kamal Thapa) has found it necessary to mention or congratulate the climbers for their record-breaking climb that has been praised by the mountaineering community worldwide. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Ffb.watch%2F3de6cPZqPR%2F&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=false&amp;appId=975519809274828&amp;height=626" width="500" height="626" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> The winter ascent of the 8,611m high mountain on the Pakistan-China border had been attempted many times in the past 30 years, and the successful climb by the Nepalis has been hailed as a singular mountaineering achievement.Nepal’s high altitude guides have assisted many international expeditions on K2 and other mountains in Nepal to get to the top, this time they united their effort to set a world record and demonstrate that anything is possible when Nepalis work together.The ten Nepalis from three different expeditions were Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa. Despite unrelenting wind and cold, with temperature dipping to -70Celsius, the Nepalis decided not to go individually for the record, but collectively claim the achievement on behalf of Nepal. <figure><img width="1440" height="1800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd3099c7e80680e08f947jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja on the summit of K2 on 16 January. He reached the top with other Nepalis, but did not use supplemental oxygen. Photo: NIMS PURJA/FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>Nima Purja, who set <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/">his own record in 2019</a> by climbing the world’s 14 eight thousanders in a record-smashing six months and six days, was back on K2 to repeat the climb in winter. After descending to Base camp, he disclosed that he had climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen – which makes the feat even more remarkable.“I took a calculated risk this time and I pressed on without supplementary O2. My self confidence, knowing my body’s strength, capability and my experience from climbing the 14 x 8000ers enabled me to keep up with the rest of the team members and yet lead,” Purja wrote on Facebook, laying to rest criticism from some that climbing with oxygen was not fair.He added: “There are many cases, where climbers have claimed no O2 summits but followed our trail that we blazed and used the ropes and lines that we had fixed. Some of which are widely known within the inner climbing community. What is classified as fair means?”  <img width="640" height="623" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd30c9c7e80680e08f948jpeg.jpg" alt="">Another member of the summit team, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/climbermingma">Mingma G</a> is also said he was climbing without using bottled oxygen. K2 is regarded as even more difficult to climb than Mt Everest because of the need for technical climbing in the ‘death zone’ above 8,000m. And winter expeditions face the additional challenge of hurricane force winds and blizzards.In an interview from his Base Camp tent on Monday, Purja told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-55710125">BBC</a>: “It was super cold and every step we climbed was an effort… just 10m before the summit the whole team stop together and sang the national anthem of Nepal... the team members were quite emotional as well as myself, to make this impossible possible.” But K2 did claim a life this winter – that of Catalan climber Sergi Mingote who fell into a crevasse while descending from Camp I on the same day that the Nepalis were on top.This winter’s K2 climb has been hailed in the international mountaineering community as a major milestone. Mountaineering chronicler <a href="https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2021/01/16/winter-k2-update-first-winter-k2-summit/?fbclid=IwAR2QJkW8QHwe-oyg_n0zfC7vcK-8IvDWB1Tb20PPQ5YKYE4XmLtENqjBzps">Alan Arnette, who has climbed Everest and K2, wrote on his blog</a>: ‘There have been questions why this Nepali national team was able to accomplish what world-class teams since 1987 have not. My opinion is that they worked as a unified team to get the camps and fixed line in early, they got lucky with the weather, especially in December and early January and on the summit push, they were able to stay healthy and avoid the objective dangers of avalanche and rockfall, they had a strong support team … and they were determined to show the world that Nepali climbers were amongst the best.’ <img width="640" height="512" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd30f9c7e80680e08f949jpeg.jpg" alt="">Canadian author of mountaineering books, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bernadette.mcdonald.5">Bernadette McDonald</a>, said the Nepali team had written an important chapter in the history of high-altitude winter climbing. She added in a Facebook post: ‘This remarkable Nepali success is the result of many things: their strength, their abilities in the mountains, their motivation, their willingness to suffer, an amazing weather window and an outstanding collaboration between multiple teams. They formed one unstoppable team, one that paused only once, when they stopped 10 metres below the summit to ensure that all ten members reached the top together. Brotherhood of the Rope!’ McDonald, who is updating her most recent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Winter-8000-Climbing-Highest-Mountains/dp/1680512927">Winter 8000</a> with the Nepali success on K2, added: ‘It’s hard to imagine a more perfect group of climbers to make the first winter ascent of K2, climbers who have been the backbone of so many successful ascents in the Himalaya, but have rarely reaped the glory.’ Nims Purja used to be in the British special forces, and unfurled a banner with the British and Nepali flags at the summit at 5PM on 16 January. He said: “What kept everyone going was that everybody wanted this to their bone to make the Nepali climbing community proud. It was that mutual support between each other that kept us successful.”

Nepalis on K2 make the impossible possible

<figure><img width="1279" height="959" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b39c7e80680e08f92bjpeg.jpg" alt="Nepali mountaineer at the K2 summit"/><figcaption>First photo of the Nepalis on the summit of K2 at 5pm on 16 January. Sona Sherpa on the top with the conical shadow of the mountain behind him. Photo: SEVEN SUMMIT TREKS</figcaption></figure>Nepali high altitude guides used to assist mountaineers from other countries make record-breaking climbs of the world’s highest peaks, but on 16 January an all-Nepali team set its own record with the first ever winter ascent of K2.Altogether ten Nepali mountaineers from three different expeditions made it to the summit of the world’s second highest mountain located in Pakistan — the last of the 14 peaks in the world above 8,000m high that was yet to be climbed in winter.The Nepalis had decided not to take individual credit for the climb, but claim the achievement on behalf of Nepal. The group stopped 10m below the top, and took the final steps together to be on the top simultaneously. <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b69c7e80680e08f92cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo posted by Mingma Gelje Sherpa of the Bottleneck, the last serious obstacle before the summit. Photo: Mingma G Sherpa</figcaption></figure>The climbers on top on Saturday were Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa, and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa. They were originally from three different teams, but came together to share the glory for Nepal, singing the national anthem as they took the final steps to the summit together."A very special moment. We are proud to have been a part of history for humankind and to show that collaboration, teamwork and positive mental attitude can push limits to what we feel might be possible," wrote Purja, on Facebook.Mingma Gyalje Sherpa wrote on social media just before the final push: “We have made Nepal and Nepal’s climbing community proud,”   <figure><img width="640" height="727" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2b89c7e80680e08f92djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja and Seven Summit Treks announce via Twitter of their successful ascent. It's the first ever ascent of the world's second highest peak K2. At 8,611m, K2 is regarded as being more difficult than Mt Everest because of the highly technical nature of the climbing required near the summit.</figcaption></figure><img width="629" height="1024" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2bb9c7e80680e08f92ejpeg.jpg" alt="">The Nepali climbers on K2 are from an all-Nepali expedition led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Nims Purja’s team, and a Seven Summit Treks group.Ten climbers from Nepal left Camp 4 at 1AM on Saturday, and negotiated the dangerous Bottleneck couloir, and made the traverse, fixing ropes as they went and got to the top before 5PM on Saturday. However, because of the late hour that they got to the summit, the descent down ice slopes in the dark, cold and wind has been challenging for the exhausted climbers."Unfortunately, we lost Sergi. Best climber and very good friend of us," wrote Chhang Dawa Sherpa on social media. Spanish Climber, Sergi Mingote, fell into a crevasse suddenly while descending from C1 to Basecamp, which is supposed to be a relatively less dangerous strip. He had been attempting to climb all 14 highest peaks without supplementary oxygen within 1000 days, when he had been forced to abandon expeditions due to Covid outbreak, last year. At 8,611m, K2 is regarded as being more difficult than Mt Everest because of the highly technical nature of the climbing required near the summit. In winter, with temperature plunging to below -40 Celsius and the 200km/h jet stream blowing full blast near the summit, the ascent was regarded as impossible.  <figure><img width="1166" height="1362" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2be9c7e80680e08f92fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>K2 at 8,611 is lower than Mt Everest, but much more difficult to climb, especially in winter. It was the last of the 14 eight-thousand metre peaks that have not been climbed in winter. Photo: Pakistan Tourism</figcaption></figure>The expeditions this year have been battling extreme cold and high winds that last week blew away tents and equipment stored at Camp 2 for the summit push. After that, the Nepali expeditions decided to work together and claim the success collectively for their country. The climbers were all trying to use Saturday’s weather window with relatively less wind and sunny skies before a westerly front moves in and the winds pick up again from Sunday. K2 is so dangerous that one in every four who have attempted to climb it have died in the attempt. Ever since its first ascent in 1954 by an Italian team, 367 mountaineers have reached the summit before today, with 87 fatalities.  The Icelandic climber <a href="https://www.facebook.com/johnsnorri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/johnsnorri/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFPTPY3j2FnRufj_8KpbgZaHGhrgw">John Snorri Sigurjonsson</a> is also on the mountain with Pakistani climber <a href="https://www.facebook.com/muhammadalisadpara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/muhammadalisadpara/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG32y0whOeFh30tNPcxunxrpW51nA">Muhammad Ali Sadpara</a> and his son. <figure><img width="1918" height="1088" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111128/636cd2c09c7e80680e08f930jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja at the summit of K2 in 2019 when he climbed all the world's 14 highest peaks in six months. He went back on the mountain to make the winter ascent. Photo: Nims Purja / Facebook</figcaption></figure>The ex-Gurkha commando, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHAppL_kP59lv5KU-4KTLj1HwgePg">Nims Purja,</a> smashed the previous world mountaineering record by climbing the world’s 14 highest mountains in 6 months and 6 days when the previous record was 7 years 10 months 6 days. He was on K2 last summer, but returned to the mountain to make the same ascent in winter and reportedly planned to fly down from the summit in a paraglider.  In his book, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/alpine-style-in-the-himalaya/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610885744118000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8Xcu-i9HmiWtM0pyFI94tTBACzg">Beyond Possible,</a> Purja has written that he wanted to prove that Nepali climbers were as good as Western ones, and wondered if his feat would have got more publicity if he had been a European. He wrote: ‘Even though I was technically a British citizen, my nationality had positioned me under the radar of almost everyone. It is highly likely that if I’d been a climber from America, Great Britain or France, then every outlet in the world would have noticed the effort.’

All-Nepali winter first on K2

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