There is an irrestible energy in mountains, says Purnima Shrestha. “There have been so many memorable moments, all the challenges and successes. There is one video of me bawling on Kanchenjunga [in the Nepal Himalayas] after a successful summit. It took us 22 hours to reach the top from Camp 4. I still feel emotional thinking about that incredible experience.”
Shrestha, 31, is among a new generation of Nepali women shattering societal expectations and the glass ceiling in Nepal’s male-dominated mountaineering industry. Not only has she climbed seven of Nepal’s 8,000m-plus peaks, she completed them in four years and eight months, becoming the fastest Nepali woman to do so. Now she has her sights set on becoming one of the few people in the world to complete the 14-summit challenge.
