Mount Nanga Parbat (8,126m) has recorded the first ascent of the season with at least 14 climbers making it to the top of the ninth highest peak, expedition organizers said. 

Two record holding climbers -- Norwegian Kristin Harila and Taiwanese Tseng Ko-Erh aka Grace Tseng reached the summit on Friday morning. 

Kristin was accompanied by three Sherpa guides --Dawa Ongju Sherpa, Pasdawa Sherpa and Chhiring Namgel Sherpa. “Despite challenging weather, our team managed to summit Nanga Parbat. They reached the summit at 10.50am local time,” said Pemba Sherpa, founder of 8K Expedition, Kristin’s outfitter. 

Dawa Ongju and Pasdawa have been with Kristin throughout the spring expedition in Nepal, when she summitted six 8,000m peaks –Annapurna (8,091m), Dhaulagiri (8,167m), Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Everest (8,848.86m), Lhotse (8,516m)  and Makalu (8,485m)—in 29 days, setting a record of fastest ascent of the six peaks, two days ahead of Nirmal Purja Nimsdai’s record. 

In 2019, Nimsdai, who set a world record climbing 14 peaks above 8000m in six months and six days, had summited six 8,000m peaks in 31 days. 

Kristin also holds a record of the fastest woman to climb Everest and Lhotse in a record 12 hours last year. Her next peaks will be K2 (8,611m) and Broad Peak, her outfitter said. 

Grace Tseng, who also wants to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000m, has become the first Taiwanese woman to summit Nanga Parbat. This is her eighth peak above 8000m. Last year, she attempted to climb K2 in winter, which she had to call off due to weather. 

Grace was accompanied by Nima Gyalzen Sherpa and Ningma Dorje Tamang. Nima has already climbed 9 peaks above 8000m. Summiting the five mountains in Pakistan this summer will make him the sixth Nepali climber to complete 14 peaks. 

Mingma Sherpa is the first Nepali to complete 14 peaks in 2011. His brother Chhang Dawa Sherpa was the next Nepali climber to join the 14 peaks club in 2013. Sanu Sherpa is the third who completed it in 2019. Nimsdai and Mingma Gyabu Sherpa also summited 14 peaks in the same year becoming the 4 and 5^th Nepali respectively.

Sanu Sherpa is also in Karakoram mountains to achieve historic feat of climbing all 14 of the 8000er twice. He is leading Japanese climber Naoko Watanabe to 4 peaks in Pakistan -Nanga Parbat Gasherbrum I, II and Broad Peak for Pioneer Adventures. Sanu will be the only person in the world to have climbed all 8000er twice if he succeeds in summitting Gasherbrum II (8,035m).

Romanian climber Adrian Laza and Polish climber Dorota Lidia Samocko along with five Sherpa guides made it to the summit of Nanga Parbat. Pechhumbe Sherpa and Tenjen Sherpa aka Mantare Lama of Seven Summit Treks were members of rope fixing team, while Tenjing Sherpa Chhangba Sherpa and Dawa Nurbu Sherpa of the same outfitter accompanied the foreign climbers.