Harila summits Lhotse after Nuptse climb; guide completes Himalayan 'Triple Crown'
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila reached the summit of Lhotse on Thursday, days after climbing Mount Nuptse, while her guide Ming Temba Sherpa completed the Everest-Lhotse-Nuptse “Triple Crown” after earlier summiting Everest with the rope-fixing team.
Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila summited Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain, on Thursday, days after climbing Mount Nuptse, officials said.
Harila reached the 8,516-meter summit as part of her attempt to complete the “Triple Crown” — climbing Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse during the same expedition season in Nepal.
Khimlal Gautam, coordinator of the Department of Tourism’s Everest Base Camp field office, confirmed the ascent.
“After Nuptse, she reached to the summit of Lhotse around an hour ago today. She has her eyes on Everest now,” Gautam said.
Harila had earlier summited Mount Nuptse (7,861 meters) on Sunday, marking the first commercial ascent of the peak during the 2026 spring climbing season. Nuptse shares the same South Base Camp and climbing corridor through the Khumbu Icefall with Everest expeditions.
Meanwhile, her guide, Ming Temba Sherpa, completed the Himalayan “Triple Crown” with the Lhotse ascent. Ming Temba had already climbed Everest earlier this season as part of the elite rope-fixing team that opened the route to the world’s highest peak for commercial expeditions.
Harila, from Vadsø in northern Norway, is known for her rapid ascents of high-altitude peaks. In 2023, Harila and Nepali climber Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa climbed all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters in a record 92 days.
She also set speed records that year by summiting Everest and Lhotse within less than eight hours, according to her expedition profile.
