ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
There’s a moment, about 18 minutes into the excellent new Netflix documentary 14 Peaks, where you struggle to believe what you’re seeing. Nimsdai Purja (above), the star of the movie and the hottest property in global mountaineering right now, has just descended to the safety of his tent after summiting Annapurna, but is already preparing to go back up. After learning that another mountaineer has spent the night stranded alone, high on the world’s 10th highest mountain, Nims and two members of his team don’t even think twice about going back to rescue him. What follows is an astonishing feat of skill and bravery, dangling from a wire beneath a helicopter operating at its altitude limit, before being dropped onto Annapurna’s upper slopes and bringing the casualty down to safety. This is just one of many moments in 14 Peaks that make you realise Nims is special, not just physically but also in his mental strength and approach to life. This month we were fortunate to sit down and chat to him about his background and historic achievements, and it’s the kind of interview that makes you realise almost anything is possible. If there’s a trip you’ve been putting off, a bucket list hill you’ve never quite got round to, or you just need a bit of motivation to lace up your boots and get outside in the January gloom, flick to page 24 and hopefully Nims’ words will inspire you. And, of course, once you’ve got that motivation, you’ll find hundreds of ideas for hills to climb in this issue of Trail.
Oli Reed, editor
(Instagram @the_outdoordad)