Beyond Possible: One Man, Fourteen Peaks, and the Mountaineering Achievement of a Lifetime

Nepali climber Nims Purja is the first man ever to summit all fourteen of the world's 8000 meter "Death Zone" peaks. He did so in less than seven months, breaking the previous record of seven years.

In this spellbinding memoir, tied to the acclaimed Netflix documentary 14 Peaks, Purja reveals the man behind the climbs, explaining how his early life in Nepal and training as a soldier in Britain's elite Gurkha and SBS units allowed him to achieve a mountaineering mission few thought was attainable. Purja shows how leadership, integrity, and collaboration drive world's greatest climbing feats, including the first-ever winter ascent of Pakistan's K2--another mountaineering milestone that he achieved in January 2021.

Both profound and inspiring, this intimate book reveals what it takes to go miles beyond the possible.

Author: Nims Purja
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Published: 01/04/2022
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.20w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781426222535

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/25/2021

About the Author
Nims Purja is a Nepalese mountaineer and a holder of multiple mountaineering world records. Prior to taking on a career in mountaineering, he served with the British Armed Forces as a Nepalese Gurkha, and was a soldier in the Special Boat Service (SBS), an elite special forces unit of the Royal Navy. Purja is notable for having climbed all 14 of Earth's eight-thousanders (mountain peaks above 8,000 meters or 26,000 feet) in a record time of six months and six days with the aid of bottled oxygen, beating the previous record of just under eight years. He was also the first to reach the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu in a time period of 48 hours. In 2021, Purja, along with a team of nine other Nepalese mountaineers, successfully completed the first-ever winter ascent of Pakistan's K2.