A historical record: Kristin Harila completes the fastest route on the roofs of the planet

The runrún began on July 23 in Karakorum and in a short time reached the entire planet of mountaineering. Would Kristin Harila be able to climb K2 (8,611 m) and complete her feat? The Norwegian had just descended from Cho Oyu, another 8,000-meter mountain in the Pakistani range, and was immediately heading to base camp on the second-highest mountain on Earth.

Doubts were dispelled only four days later. Against all odds, with infamous weather conditions, under the threat of falling from large seracs and fighting for a spot on the fixed ropes with dozens of climbers stuck on the same climb, the Norwegian set foot on the most difficult of the eight-thousander 10:30 a.m.. July 27. Thus culminated a science fiction record: climbing the 14 giants of the Earth faster than anyone else, in three months and one day.

At the end of May, when he had completed his challenge with nine eight-thousanders in his bag, Harila announced that he wanted to raise them all in three months, lowering the 189 days (six months) that the Nepali Nirmal Purja had held since 2019, when he swept the previous mark of the Korean Chang Ho Kim, who employed seven years, 20 months and six days.

Few valued his words, despite the fact that a few weeks earlier he had reached the summits of Everest and Lhotse in just eight hours, one after the other, followed six days later by a third eight-thousander: the fearsome Dhaulagiri.. He did it in the end in 93 days, slightly failing his forecasts.. Last year Harila tried to beat the record of Purja. When he had 12 eight-thousanders, the Chinese authorities denied him the climbing permits for the two he was missing, Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma, located in his territory. This spring he resumed his project, repeating the 12 of the first round.

Allied with speed and confident in the professionalism of some Sherpas who have proven to be much more than just high-altitude porters, the Nordic woman has used all possible means. Thanks to the sponsorship of a bank, this 37-year-old woman has been able to resort to aid that is not available to most.

Climbing an eight-thousander is expensive, but doing it the way the Norwegian has done, much more. The sherpa agency with which he has worked has put the best men at his service. These, with the help of Sherpas from other companies, have equipped the routes of the fourteen giants with fixed ropes from top to bottom.. They have also served him bottled oxygen at will, they have taken care of all the infrastructure of the expeditions and even the heavy task of making tracks in the fresh snow.

More than for all this, common on the other hand of all those who climb eight thousand today, with few exceptions, the most criticized of Harila's sprint method has been the use of helicopters to move from one eight thousand to another. This has eliminated the long approaches to the foot of the mountains and has saved precious time.

Kristin Harila and Tenjin Sherpa at Kanchenjunga AFP

His latest trick has been to transport the Sherpas through the air to the top of the routes, so that they can place the fixed ropes from top to bottom, much faster than the traditional way, the other way around.. The detractors of this express Himalayanism point out that the ethical values and inalienable commitment of authentic mountaineering have been carried away. The simple fact of talking about records in this sport gives some people rashes.

Harila's defenders, on the other hand, argue that this method of air transport is essentially no different from the cable cars and funiculars that are used at will to reach the foothills of mountains such as the Alps.

On the other hand, they point out that the mountains can be climbed in many ways. All must be respected, as long as it is indicated how they are carried out.. The lie is the only thing that cannot be allowed. Harila has never hidden the system he has used. On the contrary, he has embraced it and has indicated that it is the only way to achieve success in his challenge.. He accompanied Harila at the summit of K2 Tenjin Sherpa, who has been a partner on his fourteen climbs, for which he shares the Norwegian's record. On the same day as them, dozens of climbers from other expeditions – there is talk of more than half of the 200 climbers committed to climbing that day – also reached the second peak of the Earth.

Beyond the style used, Harila's feat is exceptional. To contextualize it, it should be mentioned that Reinhold Messner, the first to climb 14, needed 16 years, although those were other times and it has recently been shown that he did not reach the true summit of Annapurna.

The resistance, tenacity and mastery of risky situations of this former cross-country skier and her team are beyond doubt.. Suffice it to know that, with her last ascent of K2, Kristin Harila has reached the top of an eight-thousander on 26 occasions. The enormous logistical capacity demonstrated to culminate one after the other and in such a short time, all these escalations should also be highlighted.

It is true that the practices of the Norwegian athlete renounce the severe principles of traditional mountaineering, but it is also true that with her express method she has opened the door to a different way of climbing mountains.