Meeting Nirmal Purja, universal mountaineer

Nirmal Purja. ©Ulysse Lefebvre

Nirmal Purja made a quick and surprising stop in France, in collaboration with his sponsor Therm-ic. As neighbors, here in the french Alps, we had the great opportunity to ask a few questions to the alpinist, whose notoriety has taken a giant leap thanks to the Netflix documentary telling his mind-blowing ascent of 14 8000ers. Meeting with a universal alpinist.

Nims, after what you’ve accomplished, can you tell if there is a Nepalese style, at least a different mind when it comes to climbing a mountain?

I couldn’t say, everyone is different.

So why did the Nepalese get the first K2 in winter?
It’s simple. Because they’re the best over 8000 meters. Because it’s our playground, because we have eight of the 14,8000 in Nepal. We leave the Dawn Wall to Alex Honnold, it’s not our business.”

So why didn’t the Nepalese do it before?
Because I wasn’t there

Nims or self-confidence 

The exchange made the assembly of journalists laugh and perfectly sums up Nirmal Purja’s extraordinary assertiveness.

He was more expected in Paris, to tour the TV sets of the national channels, or to follow up interviews in the editorial offices of the major newspapers. But it is halfway between Grenoble and Lyon, at the headquarters of the Isero-based company