UPDATE - August 2023
Kristin set about to show that with enough grit and determination
women can achieve anything they set their minds to. She has since returned to Norway and has spent her time catching up with loved ones, giving motivational talks,
oh and running a marathon! We wouldn’t expect anything less. This will be the
first autumn that Harila hasn’t been in Nepal for many years, and we can’t
wait to hear about her plans for her next big adventure.
Continue reading to find out how it all began
About Kristin Harila
Kristin is already a world-record holder after she summited
Cho Oyo and Shishapangma in May this year, becoming the fastest woman to climb
all 14 peaks in 1 year and 5 days. She also became the second fastest person
ever to do this. In addition to this record, Kristin holds the record for being
the fastest female ever to summit both Mount Everest and Lhotse in just 12
hours.
Born in Norway in 1986, Kristin has always had a passion for
cross-country skiing and other winter sports. It is her particular fearlessness
for high altitude adventures that makes her such a serious and dedicated
mountaineer.
Having quit her management job in 2019, sold her house and many of her posessions to climb the highest
mountains in the world, Kristin has continued to do exactly that. As well as
the records mentioned above, this remarkable woman is the fastest female to
climb 12 of the 8,000m peaks in one season, the fastest person to summit 6 of
Nepal’s highest mountains and the fastest person to summit the highest 5
mountains in the world.
Her grit, determination and desire to succeed drive Kristin
to her newest adventure – She Moves Mountains.
She Moves Mountains
When asked by her sponsor Bremont Chronometers what makes her mission so special to her, Kristin said, “It is in these high
mountains where I have realised my true strengths, after setting a world record
in 2021, this is what I care about the most. I think that gender equality has
fallen short in many areas and in this environment there are almost only men.
This gave me the motivation for a much bigger goal. More recently Nepalese
climber Nimsdai set a world record by summiting all 14 of the world’s tallest
peaks, in six months and six days. The previous record was a full seven years.
Now I aim to show that it is possible for a woman to do the same and hopefully
in a shorter time.”
Follow the Kristin Harila 14 peaks challenge as she
continues to conquer mountains via her Kristin
Harila Garmin link.
The 14 Peaks Over 8,000m
Mount Everest – 8,849m – Nepal/China
K2 – 8,611M – Pakistan/China
Kangchenjunga – 8,586m – Nepal/India
Lhotse – 8,516m – Nepal/China
Makalu – 8,485m – Nepal/China
Cho Oyo – 8,188m – Nepal/China
Dhaulagiri I – 8,167m – Nepal
Manaslu – 8,163m – Nepal
Nanga Parbat – 8,125m – Pakistan
Annapurna I – 8,091m – Nepal
Gasherbrum I – 8,081m – Pakistan/China
Broad Peak – 8,051m Pakistan/China
Gasherbrum II – 8,034m – Pakistan/China
Shishapangma – 8,027m - China
Previous Records
There are two records for the fastest ascents of the world’s
highest mountains. Nirmal Purja climbed all 14 peaks in 2019 in just 6 months
and 6 days with the use of supplementary oxygen but before that Kim Chang-ho
summited the 14 peaks in 7 years and 10 months with no supplementary oxygen.
They are both record holders for the fastest 14 peaks ascents.
In July 2022, Sanu Sherpa became the first person to summit
all 14 8,000m mountains twice which he did between 2006 – 2022. If Kristin
manages to summit all 14 peaks twice, as she has set out to do, she will beat
this record and become the fastest person to achieve this.
As of May 2023 only 47 people can claim to have summited the
highest 14 peaks in the world, although there are some disputed claims in
addition to this.