Film
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
This Netflix documentary tracks Nirmal Purja's attempt to summit all fourteen of the world's 8,000-metre peaks in under seven months, smashing a record that previously took eight years. It's shot for spectacle — drone footage, propulsive editing, relentless momentum — more highlight reel than intimate character study. Good for anyone who wants pure awe and a rousing underdog story rather than nuance or doubt.
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Free Solo2018
Jimmy Chin, who shot 14 Peaks, co-directed this Oscar-winning account of Alex Honnold climbing El Capitan without ropes — same eye for scale, but almost unbearable intimacy and stakes.
But The tension is agonisingly sustained; if heights make you queasy, this will not be a relaxing watch.
Meru2015
Chin again, this time as both climber and filmmaker, chronicling a brutal Himalayan ascent with his own team. More reflective than 14 Peaks, and far more honest about failure.
But Slower pace, less triumphant momentum — it lingers on doubt and near-disaster rather than racing to the next summit.
The Alpinist2021
Marc-André Leclerc climbed the world's hardest routes solo, often with no one watching and no cameras rolling. A quieter, more soulful counterpoint to Purja's showmanship.
But It's melancholic rather than rousing, and the ending will stay with you in a way that isn't purely uplifting.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Conquest of Everest1953no page yet
It's the mountain's origin story — Everest before speed records existed, when reaching one summit once was itself 'impossible,' which makes Purja's seven-month rampage across fourteen peaks land as pure escalation.
The real, grainy record of the first-ever Everest summit — the achievement that took a nation's expedition and years of planning, the one Purja's whole career answers to.
But Stiff and formal, narrated like a newsreel, with none of the visceral camera work modern audiences expect.
More like this (8)
Touching the Void2003
The gold standard of mountaineering survival stories — reconstructed with startling immediacy from a real Andes disaster. Terrifying, then oddly moving.
But Grim and claustrophobic by design; there's little of 14 Peaks' inspirational gloss here.
Everest2015
A star-studded dramatisation of the 1996 disaster that killed eight climbers on the very mountain Purja later sped past. Visceral scale, real stakes.
But It's a disaster movie first, character study second — don't expect much interiority.
Sherpa2015no page yet
Turns the camera on the Nepali guides who make Everest possible, including the labour disputes and danger they absorb so climbers can claim records. Essential context for 14 Peaks.
But Angrier and more political than Purja's film — it complicates the 'impossible is nothing' narrative rather than celebrating it.
The Summit2013no page yet
A forensic reconstruction of a catastrophic day on K2, the world's second-highest and most lethal peak. Gripping, unsentimental, genuinely frightening.
But Uses re-enactments some viewers find intrusive, and the tone is bleaker than triumphant.
The Dawn Wall2017
Tommy Caldwell's obsessive years-long project to free-climb Yosemite's hardest wall, with a personal backstory that gives the achievement real emotional weight.
But Longer emotional build; less about speed and record-breaking, more about patience and recovery.
Beyond The Edge2013no page yet
A dramatised retelling of Hillary and Norgay's first Everest ascent in 1953, blending archive footage with reconstruction — the origin story behind every climb Purja later raced through.
But Its hybrid documentary-drama style feels dated next to 14 Peaks' slick modern production.
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young2014
Same obsessive appetite for self-imposed impossible feats, but staged with dirt-cheap absurdity instead of Netflix polish — a reminder that the 'nothing is impossible' impulse can be as funny as it is heroic.
A gloriously scrappy documentary about an ultramarathon designed to break its runners, presided over by a man who takes cruel delight in their suffering. Funny, strange, oddly moving.
But Low-budget and shaggy where 14 Peaks is glossy — the humour undercuts the awe rather than building it.
Whiplash2014
Swaps ice axes for drumsticks but asks the question 14 Peaks never quite raises: what does relentless, record-chasing ambition actually do to the person driving it?
A fictional drama about a young drummer pushed past every reasonable limit by a mentor who worships greatness above kindness. Ferocious and unglamorous, obsessed with the cost of extremity.
But No mountains, no scenery — just claustrophobic rooms and raw nerve, which some will find suffocating rather than inspiring.
People
Cast
Nirmal PurjaSelf
Jimmy ChinSelf
Reinhold MessnerSelf
Klára KolouchováSelf
Conrad AnkerSelf (archive footage)
Directing
- Torquil JonesDirector
Writing
- Gabriel ClarkeWriter
- Torquil JonesWriter
Production
- Aloke DevichandExecutive Producer
- Jimmy ChinExecutive Producer
- Nirmal PurjaExecutive Producer
- Anna BarnesProducer