[HN Gopher] Project Possible: Ascending 14 peaks in 7 months
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Project Possible: Ascending 14 peaks in 7 months
Author : aloknnikhil
Score : 55 points
Date : 2022-08-18 11:35 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nimsdai.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nimsdai.com)
| bitL wrote:
| A 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 wrote:
| I 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.
| winkywooster wrote:
| There's another famous 14, but at 14k feet, the Nolans 14 in
| Colorado: http://mattmahoney.net/nolans14/
| Melatonic wrote:
| Cool 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.
| rpmw wrote:
| Kristin Harila of Norway is attempting to beat this record this
| year. She has just 3 remaining.
|
| https://explorersweb.com/gasherbrum-i-summits-keep-speed-rec...
| Melatonic wrote:
| I am rooting for her of course but the political and logistical
| hurdle of getting those final permits may screw her over. I
| hope this article is outdated and she already has them
| xwdv wrote:
| I was shocked to find out she is only 36, is sunscreen just not
| a concern for people ascending the peaks??
| Jabbles wrote:
| Perhaps you are too concerned with women's appearance?
|
| Mountaineering comes with obvious risks, and other less
| obvious risks.
| mym1990 wrote:
| Sun 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 wrote:
| Someone 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 wrote:
| Less atmosphere to absorb UV
| [deleted]
| hgomersall wrote:
| Cold wind makes your skin red too.
| Melatonic wrote:
| Sun 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.
| mym1990 wrote:
| It will be interesting to see how the process for applying to
| climb the China peaks will go. Nims had to rally so, so many
| people to get the chance, I hope she sees a favorable outcome
| as well.
| ngokevin wrote:
| So the takeaway from Nims' story is lost; the sherpas' names
| are hidden from view behind the name of a foreign figurehead.
| pessimizer wrote:
| This is like mukbang for people who like to watch money burn.
| cecilpl2 wrote:
| It's an incredible accomplishment, and the movie is well worth
| watching.
| Invictus0 wrote:
| The last thing I want to do is sign up for your newsletter
| redtriumph wrote:
| There is a NFLX movie documenting/vlogging his journey.
|
| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14079374/
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| Melatonic wrote:
| Surprised 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 wrote:
| Are there accounts of the sherpas that you'd recommend (ideally
| instagram)? That sounds really cool.
| ryeights wrote:
| An 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)
| Melatonic wrote:
| If you are the best of the best the world has to offer I think
| some arrogance is allowed. Not to mention he has also really
| brought to the forefront a lot of other Sherpas who might not
| otherwise ever get the spotlight they deserve.
|
| They also have rescued countless climbers (even while
| attempting this insane goal) so I do not think we have much
| standing to judge this guy at all.
| mym1990 wrote:
| And you know Nims personally?
| ryeights wrote:
| If 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 wrote:
| Actually 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._
| voisin wrote:
| Isn'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?
| ryeights wrote:
| https://everestchronicle.com/when-a-summit-isnt-actually-
| a-s...
|
| >But in a controversial move, they [the Himalayan Database]
| also decided that previous ascents to the foresummit of the
| mountain would still be considered as true summits. This has
| vast implications for a generation of record-chasing
| mountaineers, including media personality Nirmal Purja or
| 'Nimsdai' who only reached the foresummit during his heavily
| publicized ascent of all 14 8,000 meter peaks in just over
| six months. For now, their records still stand.
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(page generated 2022-08-18 23:00 UTC)