BURSTDespite it being late in the season, Norwebian mountaineer Kristin Harila has just summited Mount Everest (8,848 m), completing the Himalayan Triple Crown after also climbing Nuptse (7,861 m) and Lhotse (8,516 m) this season. She climbed with Mingtemba Sherpa and Pasang Dukpa and summited at 8:45 a.m. Nepal time.
In 2023, Harila and the late Tenjen Lama Sherpa climbed all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres in just 92 days, setting a world speed record. During the same season, Harila also set a speed record between Everest and Lhotse, completing both summits in less than eight hours.
Harila’s summit of Lhotse was also her 30th of an 8,000-metre peak. After climbing descending, she said, “The mountain also really tested us today with winds that were much stronger than expected in the Lhotse Couloir. Because of the conditions, I decided to put on oxygen at around 8,100 meters. For me, the mountains have never been about taking unnecessary risks or proving something at all costs. Safety always comes first, and sometimes the strongest decision is adapting to the conditions and making good choices together with the team.”
Meanwhile, American runner Tyler Andrews has found himself in a world of controversy after bailing on climbing Everest without bottled oxygen. Despite having a large social media presence, he failed to share that he used a helicopter to descend from camp two to base camp, an action frowned upon in the mountaineering community. Nepal also doesn’t allow their use by climbers unless there is an extreme medical emergency, which there wasn’t in Andrews’ case. Andrews said he’ll try to climb Everest again using bottled O2.
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