Norwegian Climber Hopes to Become World's Fastest to All 14 Tallest Peaks

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, arrives after summiting Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, arrives after summiting Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
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Norwegian Climber Hopes to Become World's Fastest to All 14 Tallest Peaks

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, arrives after summiting Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, arrives after summiting Annapurna in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A Norwegian woman climbed Mount Manaslu in Nepal on Saturday, her ninth highest mountain in 45 days, a hiking official said and was on track to become the fastest mountaineer to climb the world’s 14 tallest peaks in three months.
Kristin Harila, 37, scaled Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest at 8,163 metres (26,781 feet) in west Nepal with Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa and five other guides before dawn.
She climbed Shishapangma in Tibet region of China on April 26 and has completed Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Annapurna in Nepal since then.
She will now head off to Pakistan to climb Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, K2, and the Broad Peak, local sponsors said.
"She is now descending from the summit and will leave for Pakistan with Tenjen, who has been with her on all nine climbs," Tashi Lakpa Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks company, which is providing her logiscis, told Reuters.
Harila hopes to finish climbing all 14 peaks taller than 8,000 metres (26,246 feet) by sometime in July and if successful she would set the fastest climber record by beating Nirmal Purja from Nepal who completed all these peaks in six months and one week in 2019.
"That is the target and I think I can do it," she told Reuters in May in Kathmandu.
With Manaslu, her "quest for the 14 summits enters a new phase", a post in her website said.



Astronaut Brings French Menu in Space

The astronaut and chef held a tasting in Paris to decide the menu, the ESA said 
The astronaut and chef held a tasting in Paris to decide the menu, the ESA said 
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Astronaut Brings French Menu in Space

The astronaut and chef held a tasting in Paris to decide the menu, the ESA said 
The astronaut and chef held a tasting in Paris to decide the menu, the ESA said 

When you think about the food that astronauts eat in space, lobster, haddock and foie gras probably don't spring to mind - but that's exactly what France's next visitor to the International Space Station (ISS) will be dining on.

According to BBC, Astronaut Sophie Adenot has teamed up with award-winning French chef Anne-Sophie Pic to create a menu of gastronomic delights that will travel with Adenot to the ISS next year.

Instead of the usual freeze-dried nutrients that astronauts eat, Adenot, 42, will be choosing from the likes of “Foie gras cream on toasted brioche” and “Lobster bisque with crab and caraway.”

The menu - which the European Space Agency (ESA) has dubbed “a pinch of France in space” - includes four starters, two main courses and two desserts.

Adenot said the dishes, which also include braised beef, and chocolate cream, will not only “delight our palates” but also help her feel connected to Earth, and her home country.

“Her (Pic's) cuisine signature is deeply influenced by the terroir. This is important to me because I grew up in the countryside, and it will remind me of my roots,” she was quoted as saying in an ESA statement.

There are strict rules for food on the ISS - it must be crumb-free, lightweight and keep for at least 24 months, the ESA says.

Therefore, most meals are canned, vacuum packed or freeze-dried, with fresh fruit and vegetables a rare luxury that can only be enjoyed when a spacecraft arrives with new supplies.

But to keep things interesting, boost morale, and help with crew bonding, every tenth or so meal is one prepared especially for each astronaut, with these “bonus meals” often made in partnership with a chef.

Famous for her haute cuisine, Pic, 55, has the most Michelin stars of any female chef in the world - 10.

She says this project is "pushing the boundaries" of gastronomy, as she worked with her team to create special food, while keeping within the technical constraints.

“Cooking for space is an exhilarating challenge,” she was quoted as saying by the ESA.