Female Mountaineer Kristin Harila Has Broken 14 Peaks World Record

The 14 Peaks challenge was made famous by ex-Gurkha Nirmal Purja in his 2021 Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. Now, female mountaineer Kristin Harila has smashed his record and completed the mammoth endurance feat in just three months and one day.

Kristin Harila Breaks 14 Peaks World Record

What Is The 14 Peaks Challenge?

The 14 Peaks challenge is an incredible feat of stamina: completing the 14 highest peaks in the world in just one season. The height of these mountains? Over 8,000 metres. No walk in the park, then. The summits are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges – across Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan – and include Mount Everest. 

The last record was set by renowned ex Gurkha Nirmal Purja to huge acclaim as it was considered impossible to climb all 14 peaks in one season – until 2023 fewer than 50 mountaineers had even made the attempt. The challenge became the focus of his 2021 Netflix documentary 14 Peaks, Nothing is Impossible. As the film shows, Purja goes on to achieve the 14 summits in seven months. 

However, just two years later, his record was smashed by female mountaineer Kristin Harila on 27 July 2023.

Who Is Kristin Harila?

Norwegian Kristin Harila is a former professional skier and, incredibly, has only been mountaineering since 2018. 

In May 2021, she set a world record becoming the fastest person to climb Mount Everest and Lhotse in less than 12 hours (a record she has since bettered with a time of just over eight hours).

She originally started the 14 Peaks challenge in 2022, but wasn’t allowed to complete two mountains located in Tibet by the Chinese authorities. However, in 2023 she attempted it again, and completed all 14 summits in an incredible three months and one day, less than half the time that Purja did it in. She also broke six additional world records during the expedition, and is not only the first female to complete the 14 Peaks in one season but now the fastest person to have done so ever. She was accompanied throughout by her climbing partner Tenjin ‘Lama’ Sherpa.

Kristin Harila and Tenjin ‘Lama’ Sherp

Harila is now considered the greatest alpinist of our time, and is also an ambassador for British watch brand Bremont, who supported her as the challenge’s Official Timing Partner. Throughout, she wore Bremont’s Supermarine S300 watch. 

‘Kristin’s spirit, perseverance and fortitude is an incredible inspiration and I hope that we can all take something from witnessing her achieve the seemingly impossible, being inspired to enjoy a life of adventure and pushing ourselves beyond our limits,’ says Davide Cerrato, Bremont’s CEO. ‘We would like to wish both Kristin and Tenjin Sherpa a heartfelt congratulations and we’re incredibly proud to have been with them on this journey.’