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Project Possible: Ascending 14 peaks in 7 months
- winkywooster 4y agoThere’s another famous 14, but at 14k feet, the Nolans 14 in Colorado: http://mattmahoney.net/nolans14/ http://mattmahoney.net/nolans14/
- Melatonic 4y agoCool stuff and I may actually attempt some of these myself - that being said 14k feet is a whole different ballgame compared to the 8000m peaks (26,000 ft). Generally 4000m peaks are considered the amateur mountaineering ones, 6000m intermediate and still super respectable, and 8000m the elite.
- pinkorchid 4y agoAltitude is definitely a challenge, but I don't agree that peaks below 4000 m are amateur mountaineering and elite is reserved for 8000ers. As an example, Marc-André Leclerc made some incredible first solo ascents below 4000 m like the Corkscrew on Cerro Torre, at 3128 m (10,262 ft). The Alpinist [1] is worth watching if you are into mountaineering! 1: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11790780/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11790780/
- nl 4y agoDifficult climbs are a different challenge to altitude. It's climbing vs mountaineering. For example I believe Cho Oyu (8188m) has few if any technical climbing sections - you basically walk up. That's a very different challenge to a technical climbing. Have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(climbing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(climbing) for more info.
- rpmw 4y agoKristin Harila of Norway is attempting to beat this record this year. She has just 3 remaining. https://explorersweb.com/gasherbrum-i-summits-keep-speed-record-on-track/ https://explorersweb.com/gasherbrum-i-summits-keep-speed-rec...
- xwdv 4y agoI was shocked to find out she is only 36, is sunscreen just not a concern for people ascending the peaks??
- mym1990 4y agoSun at altitude is much, much more potent because of decreased atmospheric protection you get from UV rays. UV exposure goes up by about 4% every 1000ft increase, so living in Denver I get about 20% more UV exposure than someone at sea level!
- prionassembly 4y agoSomeone else will be able to give a scientific explanation, but the sun is just different at heights. I used to have famiy both in La Paz and Quito and just 15 days in one of those places -- dressed for cold --made me as brown as two months going to the beach in coastal Brazil.
- ejvincent 4y agoLess atmosphere to absorb UV
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- hgomersall 4y agoCold wind makes your skin red too.
- Jabbles 4y agoPerhaps you are too concerned with women's appearance? Mountaineering comes with obvious risks, and other less obvious risks.
- Melatonic 4y agoSun is MUCH more intense actually so protection is paramount - at these elevations you are getting absolutely blasted in much higher amounts of UV - and on top of that snow also reflects tons of UV and light which makes it even worse. They do these climbs of course in summer when the weather windows open so this is a seriously intense problem. Quality glacier glasses / lenses really opened up this whole world immensely - up until this point people had to fashion weird things like putting little slits in clothing and covering the face and still tons of people go snowblind. Based on my (limited) experience with mountaineering I would guess that while sunscreen is most likely a factor they are covering up their faces with high UPF clothing.
- redtriumph 4y agoThere is a NFLX movie documenting/vlogging his journey. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14079374/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14079374/
- Invictus0 4y agoThe last thing I want to do is sign up for your newsletter
- ryeights 4y agoAn 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)
- mym1990 4y agoAnd you know Nims personally?
- ryeights 4y agoIf I did, would it change anything? The interviews he has done, as well as the interactions he’s had with others on Instagram, are all public information and speak very clearly to his personality.
- stagger87 4y agoActually no, good point. Whether you know him or not, it's in poor taste to trash talk on the internet. It's against site guidelines anyways. Be kind. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive Eschew flamebait. Avoid unrelated controversies, generic tangents, and internet tropes.
- mym1990 4y agoI would hope it would change a lot. All I know for sure is that a social media persona can be made into a fake facade very easily, and it can go both ways too!
- voisin 4y agoIsn’t arrogance a practical requirement for attempting to best a world record by such an audacious amount? I don’t hold that against him for the same reason I don’t hold it against Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or any of the greats. I haven’t read about him not reaching the true summit of Manaslu. I just found an article on ExplorersWeb but it doesn’t say he didn’t reach it, just that photos hadn’t been released showing it. Is this now confirmed?
- cecilpl2 4y agoIt's an incredible accomplishment, and the movie is well worth watching.
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- Melatonic 4y agoSurprised this has not come up already on here - what this guy did is absolutely INSANE. I am reading his book right now. 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. 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'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. In terms of Nims himself a very interesting part of the book / 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!
- orange_joe 4y agoAre there accounts of the sherpas that you’d recommend (ideally instagram)? That sounds really cool.
- mark_h 4y agoIf you follow Nims on Instagram he often links to other accounts.
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- fpgaminer 4y ago
- bitL 4y agoA 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/sports wrt its difficulty? 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/treat HAPE and seems to have significant effect in boosting metabolism and preventing pseudohypoxia.
- ghaff 4y agoI don't have personal experience beyond 6K meter peaks but Cho Oyu seems to be regarded as probably the "starter" 8K meter peak. That said, any 8K meter peak is still incredibly challenging for most people even on a well-supported climb. Don't believe the sherpas basically carry you up narrative. Even ~6K meter peaks are pretty challenging. I've been up a few in that general range (Nepal, Ecuador, Russia)--some are more technical than others--but none are exactly straightforward in the grand scheme of things. Something in that range was probably about my limit even when I was younger. Can't/won't speak to medical advice in general. Some people get altitude sickness at ski areas in the western US.
- bombcar 4y agoYou can drive on paved roads in the US to 4,200m so it may be possible to find someplace nearby you can walk the rest of the way.
- AdamTReineke 4y agoThe paved road up Mount Evans in Colorado does reach that high, but there just isn't higher stuff to hike to. The highest peak in Colorado is 4401m.
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- pessimizer 4y agoThis is like mukbang for people who like to watch money burn.
- chrisjarvis 4y agoAlong with Nim's fantastic movie on Netflix, Id recommend this youtube video for a sense of what its like to climb K2: https://youtu.be/l-dMVvvIt8M https://youtu.be/l-dMVvvIt8M 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 "who put those ropes there and how?"
- kyleblarson 4y agoAmazing accomplishment aside, I listened to him on Rogan and found him to be incredibly arrogant and self absorbed.
- danielvaughn 4y agoI'm fairly active on /r/mountaineering, and the opinion of him isn't very high on there. He's an impressive dude for sure, but his ego has really gone to his head.
- Cyph0n 4y agoYep, it was pretty clear to me from the Netflix documentary. Still an impressive achievement!
- vishnugupta 4y agoRelated, I thoroughly enjoyed "Into Thin Air"[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. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1898.Into_Thin_Air https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1898.Into_Thin_Air
- Zanni 4y agoInto Thin Air is fantastic. There's a follow up book by Anatoli Boukreev, one of the expedition guides, who comes off particularly badly in Krakauer's book. Unfortunately he comes off even worse in is own book. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/925367.The_Climb https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/925367.The_Climb
- jorvi 4y agoThere is no need to savage Boukreev. He is the hero of that night. It even says so in Krakauer’s book, so perhaps you should read it once more.