KATHMANDU: Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila has summited Nuptse (7,855m), completing the first leg of her ambitious Triple Crown challenge, a single-season ascent of Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Harila, accompanied by Mingtemba Sherpa, reached the Nuptse summit on Sunday morning in a single fresh push, according to Seven Summit Treks, which is organising and managing the expedition. It was her first ascent of the peak.

The Triple Crown, combining three neighbouring giants in the Khumbu region, is considered one of the rarest achievements in mountaineering. Harila and Mingtemba will now return to attempt the two remaining eight-thousanders.

Both climbers have previously summited all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres. Harila set the world record for the fastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders in 2023, completing the feat in just 92 days. Mingtemba played a key role in fixing the Everest summit route earlier this season on May 13.

Harila had announced ahead of the season that her goal was to attempt all three peaks without supplemental oxygen. "As an athlete, I'm always curious about how my body reacts to different conditions," she had said. She had also expressed a personal motivation for returning to the Himalayas — a hope to travel to Shishapangma in Tibet to search for her former climbing partner Tenjen Lama Sherpa, who has been missing since an avalanche struck the mountain in October 2023.