Project Possible: Ascending 14 peaks in 7 months

Surprised this has not come up already on here - what this guy did is absolutely INSANE. I am reading his book right now.<p>The naysayers will say that he did it with oxygen and talk smack but the reality is that using O2 is a perfectly valid way to do it - just as is doing it without O2. Of course you cannot compare speed with the two methods (meaning obviously doing it with O2 should help you do it faster) but at the top elite level there is nobody actually looking down on those who use bottled oxygen. This guy basically assembled a superhuman team of climbers and perfectly executed a style of climbing I might describe as semi-Alpine style and achieved in 7 months what used to take people 10 years.<p>The other awesome thing about this is that the Sherpas have essentially been doing this for years and years and never really getting the kind of credit and attention they deserve - all the big ascents we remember the western explorers who are paying for their help - but in fact pretty much every ascent relies on their skills. They are superstars in their hometowns but Nims has really brought them more into the spotlight and that is just awesome. I don&#x27;t do much social media or follow really any famous people but if you checkout the Instagram accounts for example of some of the more active Sherpas it is actually super interesting.<p>In terms of Nims himself a very interesting part of the book &#x2F; various documentaries is the sheer amount of funding work he was able to accomplish and also the just ridiculous amount of red tape and permitting and logistics that he pulled off. To top all off this is during Covid lockdowns which of course throws a whole wrench in planning. And they filmed the entire thing!

Kristin Harila of Norway is attempting to beat this record this year. She has just 3 remaining.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;explorersweb.com&#x2F;gasherbrum-i-summits-keep-speed-record-on-track&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;explorersweb.com&#x2F;gasherbrum-i-summits-keep-speed-rec...</a>

Along with Nim&#x27;s fantastic movie on Netflix, Id recommend this youtube video for a sense of what its like to climb K2: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;l-dMVvvIt8M" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;l-dMVvvIt8M</a> One of my favorites after watching ALOT of this stuff during Covid at home time, shows the beauty, the danger, and the actual climbing really well. And all the while watching these, remember to ask yourself &quot;who put those ropes there and how?&quot;

Related, I thoroughly enjoyed &quot;Into Thin Air&quot;[1], a first person account of one of the worst mountaineering disasters that took place in 1996 on the slopes of Mt Everest. The author masterfully interweaves the history of Mt Everest, his personal journey as a mountaineer, and the events of May 1996.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.goodreads.com&#x2F;book&#x2F;show&#x2F;1898.Into_Thin_Air" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.goodreads.com&#x2F;book&#x2F;show&#x2F;1898.Into_Thin_Air</a>

Amazing accomplishment aside, I listened to him on Rogan and found him to be incredibly arrogant and self absorbed.

There is a NFLX movie documenting&#x2F;vlogging his journey.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt14079374&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt14079374&#x2F;</a>

A question - how difficult is to climb Cho Oyu? Climbing one 8,000er is on my bucket list and from the research I did it looks like Cho Oyu might be the most accessible one - how does it compare to other mountains&#x2F;sports wrt its difficulty?<p>Also, is it a good idea to get a megadose of vitamin B1 before entering the death zone in order to offset the lack of oxygen? B1 is known to help prevent&#x2F;treat HAPE and seems to have significant effect in boosting metabolism and preventing pseudohypoxia.

This is like mukbang for people who like to watch money burn.

There’s another famous 14, but at 14k feet, the Nolans 14 in Colorado: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;mattmahoney.net&#x2F;nolans14&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;mattmahoney.net&#x2F;nolans14&#x2F;</a>

An astounding accomplishment no doubt, but Nims is clearly very arrogant and self-centered. In addition, he didn’t reach the true summit of Manaslu, and has likely lied about other aspects of his climbs (for example, claiming to have climbed Kangchenjunga without supplemental oxygen)

It&#x27;s an incredible accomplishment, and the movie is well worth watching.

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