Tejan Gurung
 Gurung summiting Shisha Pangma, 9 Oct 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Nepalese, British  .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Born | 1995 (age 30–31)[1] Pokhara, Nepal |
| Relative | Nirmal Purja (brother-in-law) |
| Climbing career | |
| Major ascents | Youngest British person to climb all 14 Eight-thousanders[2] |
Tejan Gurung (नेपाली: तेजन गुरुङ, born 1995) is a Nepali mountaineer known for his involvement in high-altitude climbing expeditions in the Himalayas. He has participated in multiple international expeditions, working with climbers and expedition teams from different countries. From 2022 to 2024, Gurung has climbed all the 14 eight-thousanders, being mountains above 8,000 metres (26,247 ft), and was the youngest British person to do so.[3][4]
Early life
Born in Pokhara, Nepal, Tejan Gurung moved to the United Kingdom with his family in 2005 following his father’s retirement from the Brigade of Gurkhas. In 2014, at the age of 19, he joined the British Army and served with the Royal Engineers. After completing the All-Arms Commando Course, he was assigned to the 24 Commando Regiment, part of 3 Commando Brigade. Gurung served for six years, during which he developed skills and experience that later influenced his mountaineering career.[3][5]
Climbing career
Tejan Gurung began his mountaineering career in 2017 with the ascent of Lobuche Peak (6,119 m). He climbed Mount Everest on 27 May 2022 and summited Mount Lhotse the following day, marking his first ascents of 8,000-metre peaks. After leaving the British Army in 2022, he focused full-time on high-altitude mountaineering. In 2023, Gurung completed ascents of eleven 8,000-metre mountains within a single year. These included Annapurna (15 April), Makalu (23 May), Kangchenjunga (1 June), Nanga Parbat (2 July), Gasherbrum II (17 July), Gasherbrum I (21 July), Broad Peak (25 July), K2 (28 July), Manaslu (17 September), Dhaulagiri (29 September), and Cho Oyu (2 October).[6][7]
On 9 October 2024, Gurung summited Shishapangma (8,027 m) in China, completing the ascent of all fourteen mountains above 8,000 metres.[6] In addition to his Himalayan climbs, Gurung has also ascended mountains outside Nepal, including Mount Elbrus in Russia and Aconcagua in Argentina.[6]
Eight-thousanders
| Summit Order | Peak's Rank | Mountain | Height (m) | Summit Date | O2 = Oxygen use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Everest | 8,848.86 | 27 May 2022 | O2[8] |
| 2 | 4 | Lhotse | 8,516 | 28 May 2022 | O2 |
| 3 | 10 | Annapurna I | 8,091 | 15 April 2023 | O2 |
| 4 | 5 | Makalu | 8,485 | 23 May 2023 | O2 |
| 5 | 3 | Kangchenjunga | 8,586 | 1 June 2023 | O2 |
| 6 | 9 | Nanga Parbat | 8,125 | 2 July 2023 | O2 |
| 7 | 13 | Gasherbrum II | 8,034 | 17 July 2023 | O2 |
| 8 | 11 | Gasherbrum I | 8,080 | 21 July 2023 | O2 |
| 9 | 12 | Broad Peak | 8,051 | 25 July 2023 | O2 |
| 10 | 2 | K2 | 8,611 | 28 July 2023 | O2[9] |
| 11 | 8 | Manaslu | 8,163 | 17 Sep 2023 | O2 |
| 12 | 7 | Dhaulagiri | 8,167 | 29 Sep 2023 | O2 |
| 13 | 6 | Cho Oyu | 8,188 | 2 Oct 2023 | O2[10] |
| 14 | 14 | Shishapangma | 8,027 | 9 Oct 2024 | O2[11] |
The total time he took to climb the 14 eight-thousanders was 2 years, 4 months, and 13 days.[12][1][13][14]
During the 2023 climbing season on Shishapangma, multiple avalanches on the upper slopes resulted in the deaths of four climbers, including American mountaineer Anna Gutu. Tejan Gurung was present on the mountain at the time and later returned to complete his own summit on 9 October 2024, finishing his 14-peaks project.[15][16][17]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Elite Exped - Tejan Gurung Completes 14 Peaks". www.eliteexped.com.
- ↑ "Ex-Army Commando becomes youngest Briton to summit world's 14 highest peaks". www.forcesnews.com. October 19, 2024.
- 1 2 "Former Commando Tejan Gurung Becomes Youngest Brit to Conquer All 14 Highest Peaks at Just 29". October 29, 2024.
- ↑ Gurung, Dipendra (14 October 2024). "Nepali Mountaineering Community Celebrates the Records of Nepali Climbers". Nepal Mountaineering Association. Archived from the original on 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
- ↑ "Tejan Gurung scales all above 8,000-meter high mountains". GorakhaPatra.
- 1 2 3 "Tejan Gurung scales all above 8,000-meter high mountains". The Rising Nepal. 2024-10-18. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ↑ "Man climbs Everest from sea level in under 4 days".
- ↑ Arnette, Alan (May 27, 2022). "Everest 2022: Summit Wave 12 – Recap | The Blog on alanarnette.com". www.alanarnette.com.
- ↑ "Tejan Gurung: Scaling New Heights and Shattering Records". Real Nepal Info. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
- ↑ Online, T. H. T. (October 4, 2023). "28-year-old Tejan Gurung scales Cho Oyu, aims to be youngest 14 peak summiteer". The Himalayan Times.
- ↑ "Mountaineer Nimsdai "Nims" Purja sets three new world records on the world's highest peaks in just five days". October 12, 2024.
- ↑ Online, T. H. T. (October 14, 2024). "Nepali mountaineering community celebrates records of Nepali climbers". The Himalayan Times.
- ↑ "Tejan Gurung Becomes First from Syangja to Climb All 14 Peaks Above 8,000 Meters - Tourism Info Nepal". October 19, 2024.
- ↑ "L'alpiniste Nimsdai « Nims » Purja établit trois nouveaux records du monde sur les plus hauts sommets du monde en seulement cinq jours".
- ↑ Liu, Gloria (June 27, 2024). "Did a Dangerous New Mountaineering Trend Cause Four Deaths on Shishapangma?". Outside.
- ↑ "A Hard Lesson From Shishapangma: Leadership Needed » Explorersweb".
- ↑ Online, T. H. T. (October 7, 2023). "Anna Gutu, Sherpa climber died; Gina Marie, Tenjen Lama still missing in Shishapangma avalanche". The Himalayan Times.