<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?

<img width="960" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61af9c7e80680e056ee7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Fans of Nirmal Purja, who this week completed his goal of climbing all the world’s 14 highest mountains in a record-shattering 6 months, have reacted strongly to those belittling his feat.Purja climbed Mt Xixapangma (8,027m) in China on Monday, his last eight thousander in a record-shattering 190 days. The last record was by Korean climber Kim Chang-ho, who took nearly 8 years to perform the same feat. He was killed in an avalanche in Gurja Himal in Nepal last year.Yet some mountaineering experts and climbers have downplayed the achievement, saying he used supplemental oxygen above 7,500m on all his climbs, had a team to fix ropes, and also that he did not give members of his team enough credit.<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFn3YKc9nWj9MhH_6mx6-GTBD6dsQ">The Times</a> newspaper quoted Chris Bonington, the noted British climber famous for the first ascent in 1975 of the southwest face of Mt Everest, as saying: ‘What he has done is quite extraordinary, but it isn’t mountaineering. Real mountaineering is exploratory – finding new routes up to big peaks … I don’t see this as a major event.’ <figure><img width="960" height="959" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61b29c7e80680e056ee8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nims Purja and two team members on the summit of Mt Xixapangma (8,027m) on 28 October, after shattering the world record to climb 14 of the world's highest peaks in 6 months. Photo: Nims Purja / Facebook</figcaption></figure>The German mountaineer Ralf Dujmovits told an <a href="https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/10/climber-nims-purja-didnt-break-anyones-record-he-smashed-a-barrier/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/10/climber-nims-purja-didnt-break-anyones-record-he-smashed-a-barrier/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF7e2WNXOdCTn3gjJBVur2xO8scJw">adventure magazine</a>: ‘It is completely ignored that Nirmal Purja is using bottled oxygen. It’s a performance that looks spectacular, but is not spectacular.’The first Briton to climb Mt Everest without oxygen, Stephen Venables, also told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFn3YKc9nWj9MhH_6mx6-GTBD6dsQ">the paper</a>: ‘The fact that he used supplementary oxygen detracts from the feat. I know he also used fixed ropes. It isn’t exactly alpinism as I understand it ... It will certainly make it into the Guinness Book of Records, but in the history of mountaineering it will only be a footnote.’The unkindest cut of all came from Amit Chowdhuary, the head of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation in New Delhi, who called the climbs ‘mindless sensationalism’. He told The Times: ‘We don’t support this kind of gimmick. If you have 20 people supporting you, of course you can achieve this. But you are putting so many people’s lives at risk, including your own. What for? We want people to climb safely.’Reacting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009545858803" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id%3D100009545858803&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFfQuyqEVnUYYCuDiwiirsCm9nRg">in a Facebook post</a>, retired general from British Army, Sam Cowan wrote: ‘The quoted reaction from some of “mountaineering’s old guard” is no real surprise but the remarks of the vice-president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation are particularly crass – and wrong!’ <figure><img width="960" height="630" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61b49c7e80680e056ee9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Hindi paper Dainik Bhaskar</figcaption></figure>The Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi newspaper in India chose to headline that Purja was educated in India, and highlighted the fact that his family had taken him to India when he was five and he got his early schooling there. Critics have said that Korean climber Kim Chang-ho deserves more acclaim because he climbed all 14 peaks without bottled oxygen, even though he took 7 years and 11 months to complete all the climbs.There was sharp and swift reaction in social media from Nims Purja’s fans who said the criticism of his feat reeked of ‘colonialism’, and that ‘westerners could not bear to see Nepalis succeed’. Others said that Nepalis were now setting the bar in Himalayan mountaineering, and were ‘finally getting the recognition they deserve’. Another post said that Nepal’s mountain guides and porters had never got the credit for putting western on the tops of the world’s highest mountains., and Purja’s feat had changed that forever.However, there has also been much praise for Purja’s climbs from other Western climbers and mountaineering journals. In a report titled ‘Climber Nims Purja Didn’t Break Anyone’s Record—He Smashed a Barrier’, the <a href="https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/10/climber-nims-purja-didnt-break-anyones-record-he-smashed-a-barrier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adventure Journal wrote this week</a>:  ‘It was a barrier-breaking testament to human potential, and a powerful demonstration of teamwork.’Tyrolean Reinhld Messener, 75, who first climbed Mt Everest without oxygen and went on to climb all 14 eight thousanders over a period of 16 years, said Purja’s climbs a ‘unique mountaineering achievement’.   <img width="960" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61b79c7e80680e056eeajpeg.jpg" alt="">Purja has been consistently thanking his team of guides from Nepal saying his feat would not have been possible without them. Members of his team themselves broke climbing records left and right: 30-year-old Mingma David Sherpa climbed nine peaks above 8,000m with Purja this year. Another team member Gesman Tamang summited seven of the world highest mountains with Purja this spring.In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NimsPurja/?epa=SEARCH_BOX" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/NimsPurja/?epa%3DSEARCH_BOX&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNECQ__1000V0UR3g1NEjTyJbTAhSw">Facebook post on Thursday</a>, Purja wrote: ‘United we conquer ! Here is to The A-team: Mingma David Sherpa , Gesman Tamang, Galjen Sherpa, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa and Halung Dorchi Sherpa. The journey of 14/7 has tested us all the way though at many levels. Together we have been through so much, we climbed not only as a team but as brothers with one sole goal to make the impossible possible pushing the human limitations to next level. Now, the BROTHERHOOD that we share between us is even STRONGER!’ Writing in Purja’s support, many social media posts said his team was not given enough credit for rescuing stranded mountaineers on Annapurna and Kangchenjunga, even if it meant it would slow down their expeditions. Purja’s team made heroic rescues in April and May at high altitude in poor weather.Reacting in <a href="http://thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thetimes.co.uk/article/now-im-eating-humble-pie-admits-british-peak-record-holder-kenton-cool-xfrbqjxw3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572622041568000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHKvn1dk2g9oImkpw9WLepZkBJ_Kg">The Times</a> this week, British multiple Everest summiteers Kenton Cool said: ‘I’m eating a lot of humble pie because what Purja has done is super, super-impressive. I’m the first to say I didn’t think he was going to do it. His ambition was so high, I thought he needed a dollop of realism.’ This week <a href="https://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2019/nirmal-purjas-ascent-of-all-fourteen-8000m-peaks-why-is-it-controversial/?fbclid=IwAR2y3I8mCV5RhEYybUfTEH7bX4Hv23Gx4ePfay8lJq_lmIXZUiHPrOEO5kw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Horell wrote in his blog</a>: 'These men are being churlish, surely – why do they have such a problem with what Nirmal Purja did?'

Nims Purja fans react to criticism of climb

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61899c7e80680e056edajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1368" height="2048"/><figcaption>Photo: NIMAL PURJA/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja has performed an extraordinary and unprecedented feat of climbing all the world’s 14th highest mountains within a seven month period by scaling his last peak, Mt Xixapangma in China on Tuesday. The only reason he could not complete the exploit earlier was because of visa delays, and rescuing stranded climbers along the way.The former Gurkha Special Forces Commando in the British Navy set out on his quest in April 2019, and climbed all the world’s peaks above 8,000m – including Mt Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Makalu in Nepal this spring before moving on to K2 in the Karakoram in Pakistan.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nirmal-purja-on-his-viral-everest-photo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nirmal Purja on is viral Everest photo</a>Mt Xixapangma (8.027m) was his last and 14th peak, but for that he had to overcome a hurdle perhaps more difficult than the climb itself: securing a Chinese visa to visit the restricted region of Tibet. It was a nail-biting finish before he finally got the permit two weeks ago and set off for the mountain which is only 70km north of Kathmandu.His feat has been described as the greatest achievement in mountaineering history for endurance and stamina – he has done in 7 months what the previous record holder, Korean climber Kim Chang-ho, took eight years to climb.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a618d9c7e80680e056edbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="956" height="1508">Purja, 36, crowdfunded his climbs through Project Possible and is also raising money for charities, including for the welfare of Gurkha veterans and their families and the group <a href="https://www.chorachori.org.uk/nims/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chorachori.org.uk/nims/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFVY6bvsX7SEaJbxlhGlmtJcWIRCg">Chora Chori</a> which runs a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nurturing-rescued-children-with-nature/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nurturing-rescued-children-with-nature/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFdqMUagDNuUWLfRbQHhH28ScZwQg">shelter for trafficked children in Kathmandu</a>.Most people had not heard about Nims Purja’s audacious attempt to climb all the world’s highest peaks in record time until his famous photograph of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/overkill-on-everest/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/overkill-on-everest/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHP7Gc_amobTsuIlu6qG5xNOlWZEA">‘traffic jam’</a> on Mt Everest this spring went viral on the Internet.In an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nirmal-purja-on-his-viral-everest-photo/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nirmal-purja-on-his-viral-everest-photo/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEShbPtKTq2qAoAkOGzeQVrTNX87w">interview with Nepali Times</a> after his Everest climb and before heading off to Pakistan in April, Purja said:  “Yes, the traffic jam happened because all climbers wanted to get to the top at the same time. The crowd must be managed. For example, we climbed Annapurna in April. Maybe Everest climbing season can be opened up earlier too. Nature is for everyone, and climbing mountains shouldn’t be reserved for the rich.” (Read full interview below)Besides climbing all those mountains, Purja also managed to carry out some high altitude rescues of stranded climbers on Annapurna and Kanchenjunga this spring.Originally from Myagdi district in Nepal, Purja joined the British Army Special Forces in 2003, the first Gurkha to do so. But climbing mountains was more important to him than a well-paying job, so he quit in March 2019 to begin his climbs.He climbed Annapurna I (23 April), Dhaulagiri (12 May) Kanchenjunga (16 May) both Everest and Lhotse (23 May) and Makalu (25 May). Climbing those 6 peaks within 31 days was itself a record. Then he went on to climb <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanga_Parbat" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanga_Parbat&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHOt2G52Nj7DNiAY0MM_uIbqSOKTQ">Nanga Parbat</a> (6 July), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasherbrum_I" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasherbrum_I&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEI7RPrz0lxybeSuHZkOfci9LVReA">Gasherbrum I</a> (15 July), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasherbrum_II" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasherbrum_II&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHc_5TaGKoovKPzy0kq4olkJASerA">Gasherbrum II</a> (18 July), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPjIVFpnQV7dIN6YflRO7C4-LzCg">K2</a> (24 July) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Peak" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Peak&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572407182084000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGcEYSLO4M_WgnFOW9BJ3RQrNAJ1w">Broad Peak</a>(26 July). He came back in the autumn to climb Manaslu (23 September) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cho_Oyu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cho Oyu </a>(27 September).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a618f9c7e80680e056edcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536"><figcaption>Nims Purja is greeted at Kathmandu airport by British Ambassador Richard Morris after climbing Mt Xixapangma in China, his 14th eight thousander. Photo: RICHARD MORRIS/TWITTER</figcaption></figure>Nepali Times: What is your objective in climbing 14 mountains above 8,000m in 7 months?Nims Purja: I want to show human capacity, I am not climbing to set any records. My competition is only with myself. I was born in a small village in Myagdi. I want to prove that no matter what your background, you can do things considered impossible if you have the right thinking.My second objective is to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change. In 2014, me and my team had melted the snow at Ama Dablam base camp to cook food. Last year there was no snow there. Thirdly, I want to help promote tourism in Nepal, contribute to the success of Visit Nepal year 2020, and be engaged in social work.It is a very ambitious task.In 2017, I did not feel tired even after I climbed Everest, Makalu and Lhotse in 5 days. I ended up walking for 18 hours after the helicopter could not come to Makalu base camp due to bad weather. That was when I thought that I could do something more on the mountains for charity.Why Project Possible?I wanted to show that anything is possible with positive thoughts and proper management. My life experiences have also taught me that anything is possible with patience and determination.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61929c7e80680e056eddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="960"><figcaption>Nims Purja on 26 October before beginning his climb of Xixapangma in China, the last of the 14 highest mountains in the world that the climber from Nepal climbed in under 7 months. Photo: PROJECT POSSIBLE</figcaption></figure>What kind of reactions have you been getting to the campaign?Even respected mountaineers have told me that it is not possible to scale 14 mountains in 7 months. But I have now done six in 31 days. When we started climbing Annapurna, we had doubts. But then it got easier.Your photo of the traffic jam on Everest led to negative comments about climbing management in Nepal.Yes, the traffic jam happened because all climbers wanted to get to the top at the same time. The crowd must be managed. For example, we climbed Annapurna in April. Maybe Everest climbing season can be opened up earlier too. Nature is for everyone, and climbing mountains shouldn’t be reserved for the rich.

Nims Purja does it

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum