Former Gurkha smashes record for scaling world’s tallest peaks – and rescues three climbers on the way

A former Gurkha soldier and special forces member has broken the record for climbing the world’s highest peaks and rescued three fellow climbers on the way.

Nirmal Purja on Tuesday completed his ascent of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, knocking nearly seven-and-a-half years off the previous record.

Mr Purja reached the top of all the peaks higher than 8,000m in only 189 days, breaking a record that had stood at seven years, 10 months and six days.

“It has been a gruelling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity,” he said.

Each climb saw him enter the “deathzone” above 8,000m where the high altitude means human life cannot be sustained.

He also took part in two rescues, coming to the aid of three different climbers during his campaign.

On April 23, just days into his attempt and descending Annapurna, Mr Purja, known as Nims, led a successful search and rescue for Dr Chin Wui Kin, who had been left without food, water or oxygen after becoming separated from another expedition.

Less than a month later, having made it to the summit of Kanchenjunga, he and his team rescued two more climbers from a height of 8,400m, giving their own spare oxygen to the climbers in need.

Mr Purja joined the British Army’s Gurkhas in 2003, before going on to serve in the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service.

Mr Purja, known as Nims, now joins a list of just 40 climbers who have completed what is considered to be one of the ultimate mountaineering challenges. He was accompanied throughout by a handpicked team of Nepalese sherpa guides.

His final ascent was the Tibetan peak of Shishapangma, ,which he conquered on Tuesday morning.

“I believed in this project and I made sure to surround myself with people who believed in it too. This was never just about me, which is the reason I’ve been able to overcome some huge obstacles on this journey. By achieving this goal, I knew I could inspire people from all generations, across the world,” he said.

Mr Purja left the military earlier this year to focus on his climbing career.

He was last night returning back down Shishapangma and is expected to be in Kathmandu by Friday.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks in Kathmandu, which equipped the expedition, said the 36-year-old was in good health and safely descending from the summit.

Climbing experts called the record a momentous achievement in mountaineering history.

"It is a great achievement for mountaineering and mountaineers and a milestone in the history of climbing," said Ang Tshering, who previously headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Mr Purja’s team said he had also broken a string of other records along the way, including the fastest summit of the highest five mountains in the world.

During his climb of Everest in May he took a widely shared photograph of a “traffic jam” of climbers near the summit as they waited to reach the world’s highest peak.

The extraordinary image was taken as the mountain recorded one of its busiest ever days, as 200 to 300 mountaineers used a window of good weather to push for the summit. Mr Purja’s photograph rekindled a debate about overcrowding on the mountain and concerns it was leading to the deaths of climbers forced to wait for hours at dangerously high altitude.