Beyond Possible: One Soldier, Fourteen Peaks — My Life In The Death Zone

by Nimsdai Purja

As the hours passed and the drinking became even sloppier, they couldn’t believe I’d passed up such a generous offer. The debate warmed up to the point where a fight looked set to explode. Then Nishal made his final attempt at twisting my arm. ‘But no one will know!’ he shouted. ‘I will! Sure, I could lie to the whole world. I could make out I’ve climbed all three mountains from bottom to top, but I won’t lie to myself, brother. No way. I’m doing this properly.’ Through the fug of beer, the guys around us gradually came to understand my motives. I explained to everyone that I’d appreciated the gesture, but Makalu was now so much more than the scaling of another peak, or one more achievement on a bucket list of mountains. It was about conquering the last in a hat trick of Himalayan peaks, but in the right way, with integrity, which was important because the effort was a moment of self-discovery on what I could truly achieve if I threw all my physical and psychological resources at a bold expedition idea.