Nirmal Purja Keynote Speaker
- Former Gurkha and Special Forces Operator
- First mountaineer to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks in under 7 months
- Holder of 7 Guinness World Records
Nirmal Purja's Biography
Nirmal Purja MBE, Nims to those who know him, is a former Gurkha, former special forces operative and record-breaking mountaineer. He served in the UK military for 16 years, 10 of which were in the secretive world of the UK’s Special Forces. As a former special forces operator, he has placed himself in harm’s way, defending the freedom we enjoy. Nims is an expert speaker on motivation and resilience.
Having left the Armed Forces in early 2019, Nims has been the first mountaineer to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks in under 7 months. This vast and unprecedented undertaking threw Nims into the limelight with the extraordinarily successful Netflix Documentary – “14 Peaks”. In just 6 months and 6 days, Nims completed the challenge he named “Project Possible”, smashing the previous record of almost eight years and taking his place in mountaineering history. He is the holder of further six world records:
1. Most 8000 meter mountains in the Spring season, climbing six
2. Most 8000 meter mountains in the Summer season, climbing five
3. Fastest summit of the three highest mountains in the world, Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga
4. Fastest summit of the five highest mountains in the World, Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu
5. Fastest lower 8000ers, Gasherbrum 1, 2 and Broad Peak
6. Fastest higher 8000ers, consecutive summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in 48hours (Beats his own previous record of 5 days)
Thanks to his physiology, training, mindset and sheer humanity, Nirmal Purja has been capable of achieving things beyond even the most experienced climber. He now leads climbing expeditions all over the world and speaks to audiences about his experiences, explaining how a combination of mindset, focus, training and determination can lead to ultimate success.