14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
- Released: 2021-11-12
- Runtime: 99 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars: Nirmal Purja, Jimmy Chin, Reinhold Messner, Klára Kolouchová, Conrad Anker
- Director: Torquil Jones
Comments
- navillus2273 - 22 May 2023
Why isn't this man a household name?
Nims sums up why I had not heard of this remarkable feat, until watching the documentary on Netflix. It is clear that if this was a white international climber this project would have gained considerably more traction and publicity. Not only did Nims and his team of climbers achieve what sounds quite impossible, two lives were saved during these ascents and descents and they did everything they could risking their own lives to save a third. The selfless acts of bravery deserved more content in this documentary. I have ordered the book to hopefully get more details on these incredible climbers. - prachidoshi-73551 - 9 May 2022
Inspiring
There are some people who are special and carve out incredible paths for rest of humanity to be in awe of!
While I am no subject matter expert love the camaraderie and brotherhood amongst climbers. - gcsman - 26 February 2022
Amazing Himalayan mountain scenery makes this worth it by itself
This is the story of Nirmal ('Nims") Purja, the Nepali mountain climber and adventurer, who in a span of less than 7 months in 2019 climbed to the summits of all 14 mountains in the world that reach above 8000 meters altitude. It's a one-of-a-kind feat in mountaineering that should probably be much more famous than it is. Purja is someone who seems to have unusual physical abilities for high altitude climbing (which the Sherpas are legendary for, but he seems exceptional even among them), but he's also coupled that with a lot of ambition and leadership skill. The small team he put together for this 'Project Possible' had to do some very careful planning and some dedicated fundraising even to get started, and I think this documentary probably shows only a small part of the hardships they faced during the actual climbs.
All 14 peaks on their list are in the Himalayas. This documentary is as good a look as I've ever seen into the actual process of climbing them: cliffs and crevasses, sun and snowstorms and avalanches, cold weather camping and the forced use of oxygen in that 'Death Zone' above 8000m. The peaks are shown in strict chronological order as they climbed them (Everest is just the 4th or 5th on the list), but they're not given equal treatment. Perhaps it would have been too repetitive to go through the same details many times over. A good chunk of the run time is devoted to Nims' family flashbacks, interviews with his (very beautiful!) wife Suchi and with other internationally known mountaineers. All good.
It's a great story and all true. But I would have loved to see even more of the mountain scenery, which is flat-out astonishing. The Himalayas are not called the Roof of the World for nothing.
