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Two mountaineers are chasing the same record on the world鈥檚 highest mountains.
, 29, of Nepal and , 19, of Pakistan are both trying to become the youngest person to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000-meters (26,246 feet). The current record is held by Mingma Gyabu 鈥淒avid鈥 Sherpa of Nepal, who set the record on October 29, 2019, when he summited 26,335-foot Shisha Pangma at age 30 years and five months.
Both Gelje and Kashif are battling time and forces outside of their control. Although Gelje has already climbed 12 of the mountains, he has only 11 months remaining to summit the final two: Pakistan鈥檚 26,141-foot Broad Peak and 26,864-foot Cho Oyu, which straddles the China-Nepal border.
The traditional route up Cho Oyu starts in China, which has closed its borders to nearly all foreigners due to the pandemic. Later this winter Gelje will try to climb the mountain from the southern Nepalese side, which few mountaineers .
Funding the expedition presents another challenge: Gelje听is currently trying to raise $66,000 via a page. His rising status in the global mountaineering community may help him net the funds. Gelje worked on the crew of Nepali climber Nirmal 鈥淣ims鈥 Purja, whose speed record on the same peaks鈥攈e climbed all 14 in six months and six days鈥攇enerated international headlines and led to a Netflix documentary. And in January, Gelje was part of a ten-person Nepalese team to complete the first winter ascent of 28,251-foot K2, in Pakistan.
While a decade younger, has only climbed four of the peaks up to this point: Broad Peak, K2, 29,028-foot Mount Everest, and 26,781-foot Manaslu,in Nepal. His ascent of Broad Peak at age 17鈥攎aking him the youngest person to ever climb the mountain鈥攅arned him the nickname .
Kashif hopes to complete the challenge by 2024, before he turns 23. He is also grappling with the emotional impact of losing friends on the mountains. Earlier this year, while climbing K2, he passed the corpse of his countryman and hero, mountaineer Ali Sadpara, who was on February 5 during a winter expedition. Then, in May, Kashif lost his friend, Swiss climber Abdul Wariach, who on a separate expedition on the slopes of Mount Everest.
For years mountaineers have chased records on the world鈥檚 highest 14 peaks, but Purja鈥檚 eye-popping climbs have brought mainstream attention to the peaks and . David Sherpa became the youngest to climb all 14 while working on Purja鈥檚 crew.
Stunners in Nazar茅
The world鈥檚 best big-wave surfers stunned onlookers in Nazar茅, Portugal, last weekend at the World Surf League鈥檚 , a competition held on the enormous beach break. Brazil鈥檚 Lucas 鈥淐humbo鈥 Chianca and France鈥檚 Justine Dupont won the event.
One of the high points came when Chianca executed a 360-degree spin near the top of a 40-foot wave, then听slid into the barrel. Video cameras also caught the moment when he and his parter, Kai Lenny, tumbled over a wave on their jet ski.
Chianca won the competition鈥檚 2017 edition as well.
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Skier and artist has produced a series of 20 avalanche safety posters to encourage skiers to make good decisions in the backcountry. Each is .
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