Written by: Niharika Chapagain - 25006, Grade X
Posted on: 16 December, 2022
“Don’t be afraid to dream big. Doesn’t matter where you are from.” - Nirmal Purja
Nirmal Purja AKA Nims Dai was born in a small village of Nepal called Dana in Myagdi District in July 1983 AD. He is a fearless and brave Nepali mountaineer who embarked on an “impossible” journey to summit all of the 14 peaks of 80,000 meters in the world in 7 months. [1] He lived in Dana with his three older brothers and their parents. When he was 4 years old, the family moved to Chitwan. His father was a Gurkha soldier while his mother came from a farming background. His parents belonged to different Nepali ethnic groups so their relationship was always disapproved of by the society. Struggling through financial difficulties and social pressure, Nirmal Purja was raised by his parents. [2] Since childhood, his dream was not to be a mountaineer but to be a Gurkha in the British army inspired by his father and brothers. His three older brothers were also Gurkha and they were the ones who had supported Purja to study in an English boarding school.
Finally his dream came true when he joined the Brigade of Gurkha in 2003 at the age of 18. Then after 6 years with the Gurkhas, he was transferred to the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service (SBS) in 2009. [1] The main turn point in his life was when he fell in love with mountain climbing in 2012 after his journey to Everest Base Camp. After his love for mountain climbing grew, he resigned from SBS and focused on training for mountaineering. Then slowly he started to summit mountains like Lobutche, Dhaulagiri and Mount Everest. After climbing these mountains, he realized that he was good at altitude. Hence the idea of summiting 14 mountains in 7 months came to him. As everyone called his idea impossible, he named his project, “Project Possible”. And then started the preparations for his project. [2]
Purja is an exceptional mountaineer. His body can operate at extremely high levels, work for a long time and in uttermost circumstances. The Project led by him started in April, 2019 and ended in October, 2019. Though almost everyone had disbelieved him and his project, at the end he was able to complete his target in just six months and six days. He broke six world records after the completion of Project Possible.[1] The details about Project Possible have been documented as a Netflix documentary named 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. The documentary was launched on 29 November, 2021. Even after completing such a project, he didn’t stop. In January, 2021, he went to make another history by climbing K2, second highest mountain of Earth, in harsh weather conditions during winter. For his achievements, The Guiness World Record has awarded him 4 awards and his documentary has been nominated in Outstanding Music Composition in Emmy Awards.[3] [4] Purja has contributed a lot for the recognition of Nepal and Sherpas who climb the mountains, and he is continuing to do so.
References:
1. Pelling, Oliver, “Meet the man who climbed 14 mountains in six months and stunned the world”, Red Bull, 27th September, 2019
2. Bliss, Dominic, “How a Nepali climber with a "freakish physiology" stormed the world of high-altitude mountaineering”, Adventure, National Geographic, 12th January, 2021
3. “Nirmal Purja's 'Fourteen Peaks' nominated for Emmy Awards”, Entertainment and Lifestyle, Nepal News, 14th, July 2022
4. “Mountaineer Nirmal Purja bags four GWR awards”, Republica, 22nd March, 2022
