عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Norwegian Climber Retires after Becoming Fastest to Climb World's Highest 14 Peaks in 92 Days

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (C) and Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa (C, right) arrive at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on August 5, 2023, after they set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter mountains. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (C) and Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa (C, right) arrive at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on August 5, 2023, after they set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter mountains. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
TT
TT

Norwegian Climber Retires after Becoming Fastest to Climb World's Highest 14 Peaks in 92 Days

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (C) and Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa (C, right) arrive at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on August 5, 2023, after they set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter mountains. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila (C) and Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa (C, right) arrive at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on August 5, 2023, after they set the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter mountains. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

A Norwegian who just became the fastest climber to scale all the world’s 14 highest mountains announced she was retiring from climbing high peaks on Saturday upon her return to Nepal.
Kristin Harila along with her Sherpa guide Tenjin were given a hero's welcome at the Kathmandu airport where hundreds including mountaineers, government officials and well-wishers gathered to welcome them back with cheers and flower garlands.
Harila and Tenjin scaled Mount K2 in Pakistan last week, thus concluding the climb of the 14th peak — that is more than 8000 meters — high in 92 days, shattering the previous record of 189 days.
“I don’t think I will try any eight-thousand meters for a while." Harila said. "I have done 28 eight-thousand meters in total so I think I have done my part.”
The 37-year-old climber began the mission of setting a new record in April by scaling Mount Shishapangma followed by other peaks in China as well as Nepal, including Mount Everest. She then moved on to Pakistan to complete her list of climbs.
This year was her second attempt to set the record of becoming the fastest climber of the 14 peaks.
Harila had initially begun her world record attempt in April 2022 with the aim of completing it by September. But she only managed 12 peaks after Chinese authorities restricted foreign travel to the country because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am going to do running in the mountains and have already signed up for a race,” she said of her immediate plans.
Harila said Mount K2, the last one on her list was the most difficult one to tackle. K2 is the second-highest peak in the world.
Harila said that weather conditions usually dictate how difficult a climb can be and this year they faced “very hard conditions on K2” because of “ very deep snow.”
The last record for the fastest climb of the 14 peaks was held by Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born British citizen who scaled them in 189 days in 2019, beating the previous record of more than seven years set by a South Korean climber. Purja’s climbs were later adapted into a popular Netflix documentary, “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
TT
TT

Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.
That's the startling finding of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of Ethology -- the first to document widespread carnivorous behavior in these seemingly innocent creatures.
"There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us," lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire told AFP.
"In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards."
The observations were made this summer, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behavior.
"I could barely believe my eyes," said Wild. But "once we started looking, we saw it everywhere."
It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether this behavior stemmed from scavenging or active predation.
The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behavior.
Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.
The study also found that the squirrels' carnivorous behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes, and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.
"In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and climate change impose on animals," said Smith.
"Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess."
Several questions still remain unanswered.
Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behavior is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems.