Never have the slopes of the exploit been so crowded. More than twenty mountaineers want to take on Shisha Pangma (China) this year to achieve their “Grail”: the ascent of the 14 highest peaks on the planet.
“This season promises to be the most interesting in history,” summarizes impatiently for AFP the German columnist Eberhard Jurgalski, who runs the site 8000ers.com.
The climbers who flock to the base camp of this 8027 m high mountain, in the south of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet, have all already climbed the 13 other “8000” of the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges .
Everyone has been champing at the bit since China’s decision last year to suspend the issuance of permits for Shisha Pangma after the death of two American women and their Sherpas in an avalanche.
The race for the feat has finally resumed this season, to the delight of the contenders.
Since last week, six of the contenders have already succeeded and added their names to the list of those – barely fifty – who have already succeeded in this improbable marathon of the peaks.
A good fifteen are ready to join them. Never seen before in a single season…
“We are a growing community, we come from all over the world,” rejoices one of them to AFP, Pakistani Shehroze Kashif, 22 years old. “It’s good news, they are all realizing their dreams like I am.”
The conquest of the 14 peaks of more than 8000 m has long been the work of a lifetime. It took Italian legend Reinhold Messner 16 years to be first on the list in 1986.
“Top logistics”
The pace of the feat has since greatly accelerated. Just a few years. Or even less.
In 2019, Nepali-British Nirmal Purja shattered the speed record by planting his ice ax on all 14 peaks in just six months.
Returning this year to the Shisha Pangma base camp to repeat his feat without oxygen, he broadcast a documentary at the end of his campaign on the Netflix platform which definitively transformed the long-distance race into a sprint.
Advances in mountaineering techniques, weather forecasts and especially logistical support largely explain this.
Many climbers are now supported by large support teams and travel from one base camp to another by helicopter, in order to attempt several climbs each season.
“It is clear that the pioneers before attempted much more difficult, dangerous and exceptional climbs,” observes Eberhard Jurgalski. “Now, everything can be done in less than three months, the logistics are top notch.”
After Nirmal Purja, the Norwegian Kristin Harila and her Nepalese guide Tenjen Lama managed to increase the record to… 92 days.
At the head of the largest Nepalese high mountain expedition agency Seven Summit Treks, Mingma Sherpa confirms that the number of candidates for the 14 “8000” continues to grow.
Purists
“People rarely decide to tackle all 14 peaks in one go. They climb one or two and then the mountain takes them,” he notes, “and they decide to climb all the tallest ones.”
According to his estimates, the cost of the performance can vary from 300,000 to 700,000 dollars.
Nothing to discourage vocations.
“When we cross the line, it’s historic,” comments one of the candidates, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa. “I sometimes have the impression that it’s the equivalent of a World Cup where everyone represents the colors of their country.”
The Nepalese guide hopes to become the first Nepalese on the list of conquerors of the 14 summits. By putting a method to it.
“Some climb all 14 peaks, some even climb Everest several times, but they would not be able to do it alone, without any support,” she says.
The purists have thus criticized Nirmal Purja and Kristin Harila for having unlimited recourse to helicopters, for using pre-equipped voices or for having surrounded themselves with bloated teams.
They see it as a dangerous deviation from the spirit of mountaineering, like these dangerous stampedes of wealthy amateurs on the slopes of Everest.
Criticisms that leave Russian Alina Pekova frozen, who launched into the race last year to cross the finish line this season.
The mountaineer says he understands the criticism, but believes there are simply “different” ways to achieve it. “If you can take the quickest route, why not try?” », she asks. “It’s just another challenge.”