Makalu: Sealing the Unbelievable 48-Hour Triple Crown

The 48-Hour Clock

On the morning of May 23, 2019, Nirmal Purja touched down at Makalu Base Camp by helicopter. His body had already endured the grueling summits of Everest and Lhotse over the preceding 24 hours. Normal acclimatization protocol for Makalu (8,485m)—a notoriously steep, isolated granite behemoth—demands weeks of rotation. Purja had zero hours to spare.

Gearing up immediately, Purja, Mingma David Sherpa, and Gesman Tamang commenced an uninterrupted speed ascent up the Northwest Ridge. Skipping standard staging camps, they pushed continuously through the afternoon and night, relying purely on the residual red-blood-cell acclimatization forged on Everest.

Conquering the French Couloir

Above 7,800 meters, Makalu throws up severe mixed climbing on granite slabs and wind-scoured ice ribs. In the early morning hours of May 24, as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm the team, Purja took the point, hammering crampons into hard verglas and kicking steps through the French Couloir.

At 06:00 AM on May 24, 2019, Nirmal Purja stepped onto the summit pinnacle of Makalu. He had stood atop Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within an astonishing 48 hours and 30 minutes—a feat that high-altitude physiologists had previously declared mathematically and physically impossible.

Phase One Complete: 6 Giants in 31 Days

With Makalu conquered, Phase One of Project Possible was concluded. In just 31 days (April 23 to May 24), Purja had climbed Annapurna I, Dhaulagiri I, Kangchenjunga, Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu. The global climbing community realized that a historic revolution in alpinism was unfolding before their eyes.