12- Mariza Avalos: Conquering 14 Peaks

There are only 14 Mountain peaks throughout the world which stand above 8,000 meters; the tallest most famously known as Mount Everest at roughly 8,850 meters and 29,035 ft. Reinhold Messner, the mountaineer who is regarded as one of the most respectable people in the mountain world, was the first to summit all 14 peaks in 1986 setting the first record at 16 years. Followed by 38 other mountaineers who ascended the peaks throughout a lifetime, and a new record set at 7 years 10 months and 6 days, by South Korean mountaineer Kim Chang-Ho. Nirmal’s goal was to conquer the 14 peaks in just 7 months.

    From April to October 2019, a Nepalese mountaineer by the name of Nimal Purja, set himself on one of the most ambitious quests known to mankind. Nirmal, who’s also known as “Nimsdai” or “Nims” planned to set a new record of completing the 14 peaks in 7 months. When the mountaineering world shined light on Nims’ plan, many believed his journey to be a complete fantasy to mankind. The absurdity of his journey had many react in a negative way, as it was considered to be undoubtedly impossible, but this only brewed Nim's dedication and in response he dubbed his journey as “Project Possible.”

Project Possible was split into a 3 phase schedule where they sought to summit each mountain in a controlled, consecutive plan.  The first phase consisted of 6 daunting peaks located in the Himalayan mountains, close to Nims home country Nepal: Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse, and Makula. The second phase was located in the Karakoram range which consisted of Nanga Parbat, G1, G2, G3, K2, and Broad Peak. The third phase held the three final mountains, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Shishapangma also within the Himalayan mountain range. In the end Nims conquered all 14 mountains in 6 months and 6 days creating a new world record. 

What makes his adventure so much more impactful is that during his ambitious project, multiple times throughout his course he would set out on missions to rescue those who were stranded on their own journeys. 

I feel as though Nim's story is a true lesson of how our ambitions can lead us to many great places. The truth is, I’ve always measured my ambitions short. They say that only you can truly measure your strengths and your weaknesses, but if you measure them short you’ll end up regretting more. Everyone else around you can  tell you words of encouragement but it’s your own ambitions and self propositions that will take you farther.