KATHMANDU: Nirmal "Nims" Purja has recorded his 50th true ascent of an 8,000-metre peak, reaching the summit of Dhaulagiri (8,167m) on April 18 as part of an Elite Exped team — a world record milestone that adds another landmark to one of the most remarkable careers in high-altitude mountaineering.

Purja, who climbed without supplemental oxygen, was joined on the Dhaulagiri summit by Ksenia Shapovalova, who completed her first-ever 8,000-metre ascent, and Lakpa Tenjen Sherpa. The team reached the top at 3:00 PM on April 18. Elite Exped acknowledged the Imagine Nepal team, led by Mingma G, for fixing the route on Dhaulagiri.

The Dhaulagiri summit came just hours after Elite Exped had already placed a team on Annapurna (8,091m) the same morning, making it a double eight-thousander day for the expedition company.

Photo Courtesy: Elite Exped/facebook

On Annapurna, Elite Exped's four-member rope-fixing team — Sujal Gurung, Pemba Chhewang Sherpa, Dacchetar Sherpa and Phura Dorji Sherpa — reached the summit at 4:32 AM, opening the route on the peak. They were followed by six climbing members and guides at 6:32 AM: Svetlana Erofeeva of Russia, Victoria Ann Tracey of Denmark, and Nepali guides Pur Bahadur Gurung, Sandip Gurung, Bikash Gurung and Nima Sherpa. The team has since returned safely to base camp.

Elite Exped said the Annapurna ascent came despite weather challenges during rope-fixing and camp rotations, with the team's resilience and patience credited for making the summit possible.

With Annapurna and Dhaulagiri both climbed on April 18, and multiple other teams also recording summits on the two peaks the same day, Spring 2026 has now seen successful ascents across four eight-thousanders — Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Makalu and Lhotse — within the season's opening days.