Dawa Finjhok Sherpa falls just short of historic triple summit attempt
The record holding climber summits Everest and Lhotse but abandons Makalu leg due to fatigue and unsafe conditions; vows to attempt record-breaking 24-hour challenge again.
PC: Dawa's Facebook
Renowned high-altitude climber Dawa Finjhok Sherpa narrowly missed completing an unprecedented attempt to summit three of the world’s highest peaks within 24 hours, he confirmed on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old mountaineer, who gained international acclaim last year for summiting Mount Everest three times in just over eight days, successfully reached the summits of Everest (8,848 meters) and Lhotse (8,516 meters). However, extreme fatigue and deteriorating conditions forced him to abandon his final target: Makalu (8,485 meters), the world’s fifth-highest mountain.
Sherpa's bold mission, dubbed Project 3X24, aimed to achieve a mountaineering first—climbing Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu in a single 24-hour push. His plan involved summiting Everest, then traversing to Lhotse within four hours, and pushing onward to Makalu within a further 12-hour window.
“Conditions on Lhotse proved more challenging than expected,” Sherpa explained in a Facebook post. “The fixed ropes were buried under heavy snow, requiring exhausting effort to clear. By the time I summited Lhotse without supplemental oxygen, I knew I couldn’t safely continue to Makalu.”
Safety, he emphasized, ultimately guided his decision to halt the attempt. “While I’m disappointed, this effort has provided valuable experience,” Sherpa wrote. “I remain committed to completing this challenge in the future.”
Although several climbers have summited Everest and Lhotse in a single day during a climbing season, no one has ever attempted to link these two peaks with Makalu in a 24-hour period—a feat that would set a new bar in high-altitude endurance climbing.
Sherpa has now summited Everest eight times and continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in Himalayan mountaineering.
In 2019, renowned climber Nimsdai Purja climbed the three peaks in 48 hours. He summited Everest and adjoining Lhotse in a single push, then flew to Makalu base camp and climbed the peak during his 14 Peaks Challenge.
