 | |
| Author | Nirmal Purja |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom/United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Travel literature Autobiography |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Published | 12 November 2020 |
| Publisher | National Geographic Society and Hodder & Stoughton |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-1-4262-2253-5 |
Beyond Possible: One Soldier, Fourteen Peaks - My Life in the Death Zone is a non-fiction book by Nirmal Purja.
In this book, British Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja delivers a compelling narrative of his achievement in scaling the "Earth's fourteen Death Zone peaks" within an unprecedented timeframe. [1]
The Hindu's Indrani Dutta writes, "He [The author] chronicles his journey of six months and six days in Beyond Possible which should be read not only to learn the ropes that takes one to a summit, but also perhaps as a management lesson on how to overcome every obstacle that comes between a man and his mission." [2]
Jenny Coad, the associate travel editor at The Times and The Sunday Times writes, "Reading this [book], you cannot doubt, for one second, that Purja has earned every peak and plaudit with blood, sweat and no tears." [3]
Writing for Plainsman, Roshiela Moonsamy writes, "The story is told in a conversational style, almost like a fireside chat, with Nims sharing his life story, from growing up in Nepal to following in the footsteps of his father and brothers who also served as Gurkhas and how being a soldier helped him psychologically to take on the dangers of high altitude climbing." [4]
K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognised by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in an altitude known as the death zone.
Broad Peak is one of the eight-thousanders, and is located in the Karakoram range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China. It is the 12th highest mountain in the world with 8,051 metres (26,414 ft) elevation above sea level. The first ascent of this mountain was in June 1957, accomplished by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl as part of an Austrian expedition.
Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at 8,027 metres (26,335 ft) above sea level. It is located entirely within Tibet. In 1964, it became the final eight-thousander to be climbed.
Narayani was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructuring of zones to Provinces, located in the central south of the country. The headquarter of Narayani zone was Hetauda. Narayani Zone is named after the Narayani River which is on the western border of the zone, separating it from the Gandaki and Lumbini zones. Narayani means beloved of Narayan which is Parvati his sister, and Narayan refers to Lord Vishnu in the Hindu religion.
Park Young-seok was a South Korean mountaineer.
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.
Dhading District, a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhading Besi as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,926 square kilometres (744 sq mi), had a population of 338,658 in 2001 and 336,067 in 2011.
Myagdi District, a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Beni as its district headquarters, covers an area of 2,297 km2 (887 sq mi), had a population of 114,447 in 2001 and 113,641 in 2011.
Akshay Kumar Datta was a Bengali writer from India. He was one of the initiators of the Bengal Renaissance.
Indrani, also known as Shachi, is the queen of the devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and kind, she is the daughter of the asura Puloman and the consort of the king of the devas, Indra.
Monoranjan Bhattacharya, nicknamed Mona, is a retired Indian professional footballer and football manager. During his playing career, he represented the "Big Two" of Kolkata football, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. He also represented India in various international tournaments between 1978 and 1989.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa : is a Nepalese mountaineer and the youngest climber till 2019 to summit the 14 highest peaks. Dawa and his brother Mingma Sherpa together hold the world record as "first brothers to summit the 14 highest peaks", a single record shared by the two.
Kim Chang-ho, was a South Korean mountaineer, and at the time of his death in 2018, was considered to be Korea's most prolific alpine and Himalayan climber, noted for his bold and lightweight alpine style ascents.
Nirmal Purja is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer. Prior to taking on a career in mountaineering, he served in the British Army with the Brigade of Gurkhas followed by the Special Boat Service (SBS), the special forces unit of the Royal Navy. Purja is notable for having climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in a time of six months and six days with the aid of bottled oxygen. This was a record at the time of climbing, although it was broken in 2023 by Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa, who summitted all 14 eight-thousanders in 92 days. Purja was the first person to reach the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse and Makalu within 48 hours. In 2021, Purja, along with a team of nine other Nepalese climbers, completed the first winter ascent of K2.
Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, is a Nepalese mountaineer and rescue climber. He is the youngest person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, and holds the Guinness World Record for "Fastest time to climb Everest and K2", which he did within 61 days.
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible is a 2021 documentary film directed by Torquil Jones, and produced by Noah Media Group, Little Monster Films and Torquil Jones with Nirmal Purja, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Vasarhelyi as executive producers. The film follows Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team as they attempt to climb all 14 eight-thousander peaks within a record time of under seven months. The previous record was over seven years.
Kristin Harila is a Norwegian mountaineer and former cross-country skier. During 2022–2023, she set multiple speed records for the ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders, which are the peaks in the world that are over 8,000 metres in elevation.
Tenjen Sherpa, also known as Tenjen Lama Sherpa, was a Nepalese mountaineer, who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders together with Kristin Harila in 92 days. He went missing after an avalanche hit on Shishapangma on 7 October 2023. He was declared dead by Chinese authorities on 8 October 2023.