The Grey NATO - Ep 88 - A Chat With Nirmal “Nims” Purja
Published on Thu, 29 Aug 2019 06:00:26 -0400
Synopsis
The episode features an interview with Nirmal "Nims" Purja, a former British Gurkha and special forces operator, who is currently attempting to climb all 14 highest mountains in the world in just 7 months - a feat called "Project Possible". Nims discusses his background, how he got into mountaineering, the physical and mental challenges of this ambitious project, raising funds and sponsorship, his team, and future plans after completing Project Possible. He shares his inspiring story of determination and perseverance in the face of doubters, offering advice to the younger generation to pursue their dreams with full effort.
Nims comes across as a sincere, positive personality who has overcome numerous obstacles through his training, skills, decision-making abilities from his special forces background. The discussion provides insights into his unique journey from a non-mountaineer to attempting one of the most audacious climbing expeditions in history.
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Transcript
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| Jason Heaton (Host) | Hello and welcome to another episode of The Grey Nado, a Houdinki podcast, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 88 and we thank you for listening. Today's episode is a special one because it consists entirely of a chat I had with the mountaineer Nirmal Nims Porja. Nims is a former Gurkha regiment soldier and special forces operator in the British military, who was set out this year to climb the 14 highest mountains in the world in just 7 months. To put that in perspective, the current record for such a feat is over 8 years. He calls this ambitious goal, Bremont Project Possible, which obviously takes the first part of its name from his primary sponsor, Bremont Watch Company. In fact, when I spoke to Nims a couple of weeks ago, he was in London for a short break after completing 11 of the 14 climbs, and he recorded his side of our call from Bremont's London boutique. Even if you haven't heard of Nims, you've probably seen a photo he took. After a particularly tragic climbing season on Everest, the news media turned its attention to the issue of overcrowding of guided climbing clients, and a photo Nims took of the queue of climbers on the South Ridge became famous, appearing everywhere from the New York Times to CNN. Nims and his small team were the first to put up ropes to the summit of K2 this year, and along the way to several other peaks, he's led rescue efforts to aid stricken climbers, even as he's been chasing his own record. Nims is heading back to the Himalayas shortly after this episode airs, with three mountains left to climb, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, and Manaslu. You can follow his progress by checking out his Instagram feed at nimsdai or find him on YouTube. Now, here's my interview with Nims Purja. Enjoy the episode. All right. Hey, Nims, welcome to The Gray Nado. Great to have you on the show. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Thank you, buddy. And, well, pleasure to be here, mate. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Thanks. Yeah, so you're in the UK for A short time, I'm guessing, before you head back to the mountains? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah, I'm flying back on the 29th of this month and I'm going to start climbing. I've got three mountains left. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | On the 29th, okay, so you've got a couple of weeks. Is it a bit of a culture shock to go from being in such an extreme environment as the high mountains and then sitting in London traffic or standing in line for food or something? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | No, but I think, you know, obviously I have been climbing in the most part in Nepal and Pakistan and I'm just glad to be back here and see some of the old friends and all. So yeah, I was actually looking forward to get back here. So good. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Well, before we dive into the Bremont Project Possible, I just thought it would be nice to learn a little bit more about you. So you were born in Nepal, right? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yes, I was born in Nepal and obviously joined the Gurkhas. Since I was a kid, that was my only dream to do so. And in 2003, there were like 30,000 people who applied for the British Gurkhas and only 315 made it. And I was one of them. And that's how my military career started in the United Kingdom. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | I guess, you know, for me as an American and probably for a lot of our listeners, the Gurkha Regiment of the British military might be a little, I guess, a little confusing. Can you tell me a little bit about maybe the history of that regiment and how, you know, what the process is to join up? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah. So, well, the story started in 1918, roughly 203 years ago. So the British were in India, obviously when they were trying to take the whole of the world and obviously they started attacking Nepal and obviously neither the British could win and neither the Nepalese could win. And obviously after having that, you know, the Phil Marshall who was out there was really impressed with how The Nepalese were fighting and then they were called as a Gurkha soldier. So and obviously they said, OK, you know, we don't want to attack with you guys anymore. But, you know, is there any chance, you know, we have, you know, the Gurkhas, you know, you know, fighting alongside with us. Yeah. And obviously the king at that time agreed. And obviously since and then, you know, we we share loads of history together. and we have been involved in the Second World War, you know, yeah, and this is crazy. And for me, you know, more than anything else, to join the Gurkhas was about the pride, because my dad was in the Gurkhas, my two brothers were in the Gurkhas, and... Oh, wow. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah, so... Wow, family affair there, wow. Yeah. So, is the selection process, is it done in Nepal then, or do they do that in the UK, |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | So the selection process is done in Nepal. It takes almost a year and there's only one selection per year in Nepal. And to go into the selection, you know, of course, you have to be both physically, mentally fit. And the age group is, you know, they are looking anything between 18 to 21 only. And that, of course, is a big kind of, you know, fight to get in the Gurkhas. And it's a huge competition, of course. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah. When I think of Nepal, and I think when a lot of people think of Nepal, they associate it with the Himalayas, but a lot of that country is lowland and jungle and hot and humid. And are you from the mountain region or are you from the lowland? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | I'm from the most flat part of the country. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Oh, really? Okay. And so in addition to sort of growing up with this ambition to be part of the Gurkhas, did you also sort of aspire to be a mountaineer or sort of, uh, do you have her heroes, um, you know, Tenzing or, or any people like this that, uh, maybe we're mountaineers. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Um, I, to be honest, I had no idea. Obviously it wasn't even in my thoughts at all. Um, so the whole of my mountaineering career kind of started in 2012. So, you know, you know, I, I started work. So I was, uh, I was with the special forces in, in SBS and I'm the first ever Gurkha in 200 years of history to go through the rank of SBS. So anyway, when I travel to States and most of the country, you know, they would say, of course, you know, where are you from? And I say, I'm from Nepal. And most of them wouldn't know. Then I said, OK, do you know about Gurkhas? And some would like in a misery to say no. And then I say, OK, do you know Everest? And people will say, yeah, I know Everest. And then The second question I get after that is like, OK, have you seen Everest or have you been there? And then I was quite sick of getting that question. And I just wanted to go to Everest Base Camp just to see Everest in order to take that question and just to be there. But yeah, 2012, I was there. We were there just to trek up to base camp. But when on the trail, we kind of enjoy the view and having wearing no crampons at all, no experience at all. We were taught how to where the crampon in the Lovice village, which is like 4,800 meters, something like that. And eventually we ended climbing up in a 6,200 meter mountains. And it kind of started from there in late December, 2012. Wow. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | That's, that's a, that's a fairly short history between, between starting to climb mountains. And now, um, do you think that, uh, I guess not being, a mountaineer or not having aspired to be a mountaineer and then just sort of trying it. You didn't have a lot of sort of preconceived fears or notions about it that allowed you to maybe be better at it. You just decided, I'm just going to go climb this thing. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | No, I think, well, at that point, you know, I, I didn't expect to be, you know, climbing all this mountain in such a style, you know, I had no idea. And obviously at that point, um, I was kind of slowly progressing towards like in Everest and obviously I was climbing 7,000 meter peak, 8,000 meter peak and wanted to climb Everest eventually. But obviously the whole thing changed obviously in 2017 when I was one of the lead instructor for the Gurkhas. So what happened, so what Everest expedition with the Gurkhas was, so the British military government wanted to put the first Serbian Gurkha on top of the world. in order to remark the 200 years of anniversary, you know, with the Gurkhas serving the British crown and the country. So 2017 was the second time. The Gurkhas were on 2015 as well, but with the big earthquake, you know, that destroyed the whole of the base camp and the majority of the country with the earthquake in Nepal, you know, the expedition became unsuccessful. So 2017 was the second time The team is up there trying to trying to summit Everest. But what happened that year was normally on Everest, you know, a kind of a team is taxed to set fixed lines to the summit. And this kind of tax is taken by somebody else who has got loads of experience and who has got huge credibility. So 2017, the fixing to the summit didn't happen, you know, everything was super slow and it seems impossible. But then what does it mean to us as Agarkas and especially, you know, for myself anyway is like, I thought one, there is a huge reputational risk with the Agarkas because when you say you are Agarka, specifically in England and those who knows, they think Everest is in their back garden. That was one thing. And the second thing is like, when would you ever get, you know, another chance to climb Everest spending, you know, a lot of, you know, British taxpayers' money. So those were the two factors, you know, that hit in my brain. So I said, OK, you know, I'm going to go and set these fixed lines and I'm going to lead this. And everyone was like, who? And everybody, obviously, no one had heard my name, obviously, purely because I was in special forces. I wasn't in social media and I wasn't on anything else. But by then, you know, coming back into my a bit of, you know, background and why I said I could do this is in 2016 on a pre-deployment leave, that's leave before you go to operations. So I was still with the Special Forces, but yeah, on that leave, I made the decision to go and climb Everest. I submitted Everest and also I rescued a climber from 8,450 meters alone and got her out of the death zone. And within four days of that, I was in Afghanistan kicking doors. And that took me only 23 days. Oh my gosh. So I had a bit of a belief in my ability. So I said I would go and do it. Long story short, 2017, we opened the route to the summit. We were the first team to summit from the southern side. And obviously, after that, the remainder of the team summited. Yeah, so so that was it and after some meeting we got back down to Kathmandu Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal we had a of course few drinks and have you know a bit of partying celebrations and After that, I went again back to Everest then I climbed Everest again Then I climbed Lhotse which is the world fourth highest mountain and Makalu which is the fifth highest mountain in five days That's the that's the world record and that's me stopping for two nights at Namche for a bit of you know a few drinks with a few friends. And at that point, I realized I got so much to give in this mountaineering world. And that's how it kind of started with Project Possible, 14-7 and all. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | It's such a short history of mountaineering to go from where you started to where you are today. And I just think, what makes you so good at this? Why has nobody else been able to tackle this type of ambitious project or be this good in the mountains? What is it about your makeup, your psychology, your background? Is it a physical skill? What is it that makes you so good at this? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | So I think, you know, if I'm being honest, even I didn't even dreamt about this, you know, climbing 14 in seven. And I wouldn't have certainly dared to do this if I hadn't done that in 2017 and kind of knew my strength. But to answer your question, I think I have got this awesome physiology. But it's been backed up by the Special Forces training that I have been through. And my 10 years of service towards the British Special Forces, that certainly comes into play. And what it helps is in the whole project, why it has become successful is yes, we have the physical ability, there's mental ability, the experience, but also it's what I learned while I was in Special Forces in terms of making the right decisions. And yeah, basically, it's all the composition of all this stuff. And I think for us, whenever we see any problems, we don't get phased out out by that. What we do is we always try to think, you know, way around it, try to look for the solutions. And I think, you know, that's kind of in a mentality has certainly helped me as well. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah. And I tend to think that people who serve in special forces or maybe any branch of the military, as well as, you know, endurance athletes and mountaineers in particular, you probably have a heightened ability to suffer. You know, you're getting tired, you push through it, right? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah. The whole this, you know, like expeditions, you know, even first phase where I climbed, you know, 6, 8,000 meter peak in Nepal within 31 days, you know, most of them were like, you know, huge, you know, sleep deprivation. And of course, you know, with that, you know, you are not just like not sleeping, but, you know, you are working, you know, climbing in that extreme environment almost day and night. And I think, you know, you have to be so strong in your head in order to make things happen. And you've got to be very disciplined as well. And it's all about, you know, leadership and how you come across your team. And it's the whole, you know, science behind this to come this far and then make this happen, to be honest. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah. Yeah. So there's this very physical side and of course mental side to what you're doing, but then there's the maybe less exciting side of the publicity, the fundraising, interviews, etc. I mean, coming from a fairly secretive unit of the military, you know, with the background in the Special Forces and not having that very public persona, how have you, has that been difficult for you to kind of deal with this very public face and maybe some of the doubters or the people that are questioning what you're doing or even the raising money part of it. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Has that been difficult? I'll tell you this. A year ago, when I came with the idea of Project Possible, nobody believed it. But anyway, this idea had two strands. One was the whole operational because you need to plan in depth and in depth. in order to make this happen. So that was my expertise. So I took the lead on that. And the second part was fundraising. So the fundraising is not my expertise. So somebody else was doing that job. And we worked together for almost nine months. And at the end of that, there was not even a single penny. So now I've got three months to go away and crack this. I have not only said I will do this, but I had only six years to get my full pension, which is just about half a million of a pound. It's a lot of money for me, you know, for who I am. But anyway, you know, for me, I never joined special forces for money and for Project Possible, it was exactly the same principle. It was pure my love and wanted to do something for bigger goods. So there wasn't any funds. And first thing what I did was, you know, I made a few phone calls and and one of my friends said, OK, Nims, I truly believe in you. I'll give you twenty five thousand pounds. And then as soon as he said that, I came and I remortgaged my house and put fifty five thousand from there. It was really hard because you know for me, you know, I had no social media wherever I go in a people asking how many followers you have and in the names who and exactly nobody knew about my name and all it was super hard and That's where I started So my normal routine for last three months before I left for Nepal was four o'clock wake up I would do my social media seven o'clock train to London three four different meetings and I back to home about 7pm, quick dinner, follow up emails and I have never been in bed before midnight. And this was crazy for me because when you start talking about the sponsorship and all and there were like some crazy stuff and people send me like 20 pages worth of paperwork and deal to read and it's out of order. I'm not a lawyer. So it was crazy for me. And I particularly remember this incident, you know, I was driving on M3. And, you know, when you are in special forces, you have been put into stress like a 10 man, you know, you handle such a stressful situation when you know, like rounds going left, right, Chelsea, but yeah. When I was driving on the motorway, I just had like tears coming through my eyes and I just had to pull off on the motorway and had to compose myself. And I just got back into number one, why I'm doing this project in the first place and had to quick debrief myself and get on with it. And exactly, you know, First, nobody believed that this project is possible. That was the hardest thing. And second thing, when you come from special forces, you are undercover for so many years, no one knows you, and you are not a public figure. That makes it harder to raise the funds, etc. Yeah, I couldn't give up and I always say this to everyone and what I did was I gave 100% of what I could do and that's what everyone can do. And I think that worked, you know, throughout. And as people saw that I was climbing the mountains, you know, and I'm not only climbing the mountains and helping others to summit, but I'm also doing, you know, unplanned rescues and all. And I think that's where, you know, majority of the crowd supported me. That's in terms of, you know, first phase. And immediately after the first phase, you know, the second phase was, you know, there. And for me, again, it's a big, you know, problem with the sponsorship, then that's where, you know, you know, Bremen is stepping to make that happen. And obviously Project Possible became Bremen Project Possible because they sponsor majority of the of the second phase. And yeah, here I am, you know, climbing all those 11,000 meter peaks in 93 days. Climbed all the mountains in Pakistan. 5,000 meter peak in 23 days. And to put into perspective, no one has ever climbed all the five mountains of Pakistan in a season. And yeah, four rescues, six speed world records, and here I am today. I'm proud. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | I think your sincerity and your earnestness has come through. I think that's part of what makes you attractive as someone to follow and support. I mean, I think a lot of what we see with sponsored athletes or so-called sort of celebrity athletes that are in the public eye a lot is there isn't a draw to them like there is with somebody who's just out there, just in a very positive sense. And I think you always project this very positive personality on social media. And I think the name of your project, Project Possible, is just it's the perfect name for it because you're just out there doing this stuff and what's been really interesting to me is to find or to see all of these people coming out of the woodwork to support you like Conrad Anker or even I saw lately Reinhold Messner. That must mean a lot to you to have these these big established names in mountaineering supporting you. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Massively and and that means that means a lot to me but like you said you know for me my loyalty my honesty is is the ground and is the basis that I cannot forget and leave. And that's what I learned from being in the Gurkhas. So I've always been honest. I say what I see, backed up by evidence. And everything what I have done for this project, if I'm being honest, if this was for me, I would have given up ages ago. And when I say ages ago, that's before I start the project because There was no funds, it was super hard and I could still go back to Special Forces if I wanted to. But again, as I said, this wasn't only about me. And hence, I had good reasons why I should do this. Everybody says that those who have good heart and those who are honest and those who believe in the impossible have supported me like and Believe or not may, you know Messner was the first person ever Who didn't see me climbing but say that yes names you can do it so and I feel really humble about it and he made the impossible possible and but and the reason why I said only he because you know when I Came up with this project possible, you know, there are some of the world, you know renowned mountaineer or some some some alpinist and they would They would make the fun out of me. You know what climbing 14 pics in seven months? Who is this guy? You know, we haven't even heard of you and then they would look in a in a different way, you know and rather than being supportive But you know, I mean I I don't go towards the negative, you know for me and I always try to see they see the positive expecting in everything and yeah, it's been It's been hell of a journey and that's what I say to describe all this. I say it's been horrifically amazing and only I know what I have been through. The story will come out. Everything what I have done has been flimmed to death and it's been documented and hopefully we can do the justice to this story. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah, that's great. So how did you, I'm curious how you chose your team. I see the same names. Popping up these this very core group of climbers that you're working with how how did you choose them? How did you how did you meet them? And how did you choose them? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Okay, my one of my inner main guy is make my David Serpa so make my David How I knew him was so I told you that his story in 2012. We had the guide who? taught us how to wear the crampons knowing that we had no experience, but he believed in us and We trained at the base camp and we went for the summit So that person, Dorje Khatri, that's his name, he was the uncle of Migma David Sherpa. So he had climbed Everest nine times and when he was going for his tenth, sorry, he had climbed eight times already when we met. When he was going for the ninth, me and my friend from SAS, we sponsored him for the oxygen and all, and we became very good friends. But sadly, in 2015, he was caught up in, 2014, he was caught up in Khumbu Icefall incident. We lost him. From that point, obviously, Mikma came into, obviously, he introduced himself and we had heard of him, but obviously never met him in person. That's when we met him. And then we started that friendship. And from there, you know, we became really good, good friend. And and he's part of that. But rest of the guys, you know, you know, someone is like, you know, a scientist. So I had to climb my first 8000 meter peak, Dhaulagiri, with him. And that's how I have selected, you know, most of those guys who I have climbed or who I can trust, you know, with my life. Yeah, so the whole team is, you know, is someone that I know before or somebody who, you know, you know, I know through, you know, you know, like, for example, like Mi'kmaq and also, yeah. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah, yeah. How does your family feel about this? I don't know who's in your family, you know, if your father's still around or your brother or whatever. I mean, how, how, how does your family feel about all of this? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Okay. My mom, uh, she didn't like it at all. She, you know, she was like, okay, you work so hard to be in the British army and you went to special forces. You had only six years left to get the pension. It's a big thing. And then you are giving up to, to climb mountain and probably kill yourself. So that was big note started with, but when, I said, I'm committed, I'm leaving and I'm full on. Then my mom, of course, she said, OK, you know, she gave me the blessing. But my brother, like who is like father to me, you know, you know, we grew up in a very, you know, poor family in Nepal. So, you know, it was hard. It was very tough. And the whole thing changed when my two brothers joined the Gurkhas. Once they joined the Gurkhas, they said, OK, you know, we never had time to get good education and we didn't have the opportunity. We want to have my brother and sister, who are the youngest, to have a bit of good school. So they sent us to the boarding school. It means a lot to me. You know, they are like my fathers. So when I told them that I'm leaving Special Forces, all my job, and going to climb this mountain, he didn't talk to me for more than a month. |
| Unknown | It was crazy. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | So, hey, well, I think they're proud now. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | I'm sure they are. Yeah. So you have three peaks left. You have Shishipangma, Cho Oyu, and Manaslu. When, well, first of all, when do you plan to climb those? And then how do those peaks compare to, you know, the others you've climbed, the hard ones, you know, K2, Naga Parba, Everest? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | How do you feel about those? So first thing first, in terms of technical and that kind of stuff, you know, these mountains are the easier ones. But for me, you know, I have learned the most, you know, important knowledge and I have been pretty much tested in In the world most easiest mountain that I should never underestimate any mountains So when I go in any mountains doesn't matter what it is. I am fully 100% Kind of, you know prepared so for me, you know, I I keep them still in the same category But you know in terms of technical climbing those are are the easier ones Yeah, and i'm looking to finish that by 24th of october then If I finish that I will finish the whole project in in less than six months |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Shishapangma is in Tibet. Are the other two as well? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yes. So Shishapangma, you can only climb from the Tibet. So You, you can climb from the Tibet and Nepal, and Manaslu from Nepal. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | So do you feel like there might be a danger of, you know, you've done the big ones, the famous, you know, difficult mountains, you put up the first route on K2 this year, etc. Is there a danger of relaxing too soon and maybe a bit of a letdown? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | As I said, when I go to any mountains, I go as a fully 100% and I don't underestimate any mountain. That's me, I have learned my lesson and that's what you do when you are in Special Forces. you learn, you know, from, you know, you go to the target and you always do the debrief and you learn from the mistakes you have made. Yeah. And you know, we, we have that kind of, and I think when, when you go through that kind of environment, you know, like even in the slicks and you know, you can make mistake, but you cannot repeat the same mistake because you have learned from it and you can't do it. And it's the same principle, you know? So yeah. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah. Yeah. And, and when Project Possible ends, I noticed on Instagram that you mentioned that you're going to start guiding with Elite Himalayan Adventures. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Is that the case? That's the case. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | That's correct. Given that you started climbing in 2012 and you've had this incredible run of success, but you haven't been a guide, how do you think you will adapt from, say, pushing yourself to maybe pushing a client who isn't as strong or as disciplined as you? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | I think I have been guiding on a few peaks. On the first mountain of each phase, like Annapurna, I was guiding because we had no funds. So I was guiding there. On Nanga Parbat is the first mountain of second phase. I was guiding over there. And I'm guiding in Manaslu, which is the first mountain of the third phase. So I have that experience. I have been guiding on Ama Dablam and a few other peaks. I have been doing this for now almost three years. And I was one of the chief instructors in SBS, in the extreme cold warfare environment. I think when you're guiding, it's different, of course. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | So obviously you have a very high level of aptitude and skill. I'm not sure if Elite Himalayan Adventures, what their clientele is like, but do you think it will be difficult if you have some less experienced climbers or somebody who doesn't have the courage or the fortitude like you do to guide them or? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | I think, you know, it all depends upon, you know, who are they and what experience they have and which mountain they want to climb first. Like, for example, you know, if they have no experience, then we start with something like basic mountains. We go and we start teaching them and obviously, you know, build their skills towards it. But in terms of, you know, like pushing to their limit, I do that because I can take that risk. And there's a fine line between, you know, being brave and being, you know, stupid. So and I totally get that. So, you know, we have pushed the clients, you know, just, you know, well above their boundaries. And those people who think, you know, they wouldn't have submitted, you know, they have done it. But for me, as I say, I have this, you know, elite team who can take these people off the mountain within a couple of hours if needs be. So it's all calculated, Riks, and it's all depend upon, you know, where you are in the mountain, which mountain, and what's the weather like and everything. So, yeah. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Sure. I've got just a couple more questions before I let you go, but because you're in the Bremont Boutique as we're speaking, and you've got an event there this evening, I just wanted to talk a little bit about how you connected with How did you first connect with Bremont at the beginning? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah. So basically now we have, uh, I have few friends in the special forces and they were friends with, um, the founder of Bremont. And, uh, also, uh, one of their big investor is also a friend, um, is a close friend. And also, um, you know, they have supported my friend, you know, through dark. So yeah, it's, it's kind of, you know, like, you know, you know, friendship kind of in a networking. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah. And just to be clear, Through Dark, it was founded by a Special Forces person or two people and that they do outdoor gear, yeah? Like climbing equipment? Correct, yeah. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | And I have been wearing their summit suit. It's the third now edition. I have been testing it and it's good stuff, mate. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah, I'd love to check it out. It looks great. So, you know, it kind of seems like people come to watches from two different angles. They either appreciate them as a piece of gear or it's just sort of something that that they've always used, or then there's other people that are kind of more interested in the artistry of watchmaking. I'm guessing you're the first kind of person. You probably wore some sort of watch when you were in the military, and it's always been sort of a piece of equipment to you. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Is that the case? No, no, to be honest, in terms of, you know, like everything who I have been associated and who I've been working with, we all need to have kind of a similar value, principle, and respect for each other. And also in the same kind of ethos. And that's the biggest thing for me and of course for this project. I don't want to be associated with somebody else who are fake and who doesn't see and who doesn't understand. Let's say I'm saying what Project Possible is and somebody doesn't see what I'm going through and all. And I think for me, You know, working with Bremen through Dark and of course, you know, and Middleton, he also supported me. He's a fellow SF operator. And all these people who have supported me are one, of course, they who they believed in me. And of course, it's a vice versa, you know, so. And for me, if I'm being honest, I support only those or accept the offer from only those who I believe that they can make me feel as a part of the team. That's very important when you go through this kind of crazy project. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Your Supermarine 300 must have seen a lot of abuse when you're climbing. I'm sure there's a lot of shock and cold and wet, etc. Is it still holding up okay? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | It's still working mate. It still looks nice. No scratch. So yeah, good to go brother. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | And you're doing some sort of a special project where you're taking some dials with you up all the peaks. Is that the case? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah. So what happened was, you know, there was massive gap in the funds. There was no funds. So, you know, kindly Raymond, you know, offered me this, this 14 watches that I could take on the summit of all the 14 8,000 meter peak. And this is just to raise, The funds for the project possible. So basically I have taken this was so far now 11,000 meter peaks and it is getting sold to the highest bidder. So at the moment we have sold seven. And we have got these two weeks where I'm planning to sell three more because I want to sell the rest of the watches when we finish the project. And it's just to generate the funds for the third phase now because the third phase is still It's still not funded. But you know, I massively believe that, you know, look at the end of the day, if you look at the whole project possible, there are a lot of people from across the world supporting it. You know, not necessarily people are millionaires or billionaires, but people have been giving £10, £20 or whatever they can spare. And there's a huge crowd funding and they have believed in the vision. So I believe, you know, now, you know, I'm OK. I will pause over there and just to bring into the context, if somebody had climbed all this peak, you know, in that style that I have done, they would have taken holiday now. Right. But I'm back here, full and working, you know, working my heart and obviously. And as I say, it's not only for me, you know, it's for everybody who has supported this vision, who have supported this and Yeah, back into work and trying to make things happen. And I believe that all those sponsors, friends, and family who have supported this will support me for the last phase. So yeah, I'm quite hopeful. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | And if somebody wants to support you, we'll put a link in our show notes so that people can check that out. But do you have a website? Or how do people contribute? |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yeah, so the website is projectpossible.co.uk. And, of course, they can hit me on Instagram at NimzDai. That's November India, Mike Shera, Delta, Alpha India. So that's it. And then through you, they can contact you. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Yeah, definitely. Okay, will do. Yeah. Well, I'm sure we'll get several listeners that'll certainly want to support you because it's a really incredible project and I've been following and I know my co-host James is a real big fan as well. I know you've got to move on to another event here, and I really appreciate your taking the time to talk to me. Have a great time in London, and it's been a real pleasure talking to you, and you're a real inspiration to me, and I know to our listeners. So, best of luck and be safe, and thanks a lot for talking. |
| Nirmal 'Nims' Purja (Guest) | Yes, thank you. And then one last more thing, specifically for our younger generation. Certainly what I have experienced in my life is people have always tell, specifically plan for something big, they always say, no, you can't do it. Right. Yeah. You know, do not listen to those like negative stuff. You know, for me, if I was if I had listened to any of those and started doubting in my ability, I wouldn't have come this far. But also the other thing is, you know, if you truly like something and, you know, you give 100 percent, but you have to, you know, whatever you do, you have to give 100 percent. And if you can put your hands in your heart and say, I have given everything and there was nothing left. And I think that's the job done. And that will, that will kind of, you know, put you into, into next level where you should be in or where your vision is. So, yeah. |
| Jason Heaton (Host) | Wow. Well, that's a, that's a, that's a great way to close it out. And again, I really appreciate it and please be safe and take care and we'll, we'll catch up and follow you on social media. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chat episode of The Grey Nado. I want to thank Nims for taking the time to talk to me and also thanks to Braymont for facilitating this interview. Climb safe, Nims. We're all pulling for you. As always, thanks so much for listening and a big thanks to Hodinkee for supporting the show. Hit the show notes via Hodinkee.com or the feed for more details. You can follow us on Instagram. I'm at Jason Heaton and James is at J.E. Stacey. And follow the show at The Graynado. If you have any questions for us, please write thegraynado at gmail.com. And please subscribe and review wherever you find your podcasts. Music Throughout is Siesta by Jazz R via the Free Music Archive. And we leave you with this quote from John Muir who wrote, thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. that wildness is a necessity. |