Osprey Ambassador and Mountaineering Legend Nimsdai Purja is First to Summit K2 in Winter Equipped with Osprey’s New Talon Pro

January 25, 2021

Cortez, CO – January 25, 2021 – Osprey, the leader in creating top-quality, high-performance, innovative carry solutions, is proud to announce that record-breaking mountaineer and Osprey Ambassador Nimsdai Purja MBE summited K2 on January 16 wearing the brand’s soon-to-be released Talon Pro 30. Nimsdai and Mingma Gyabu Sherpa along with Mingma Gyalje Sherpa’s team and Sona Sherpa from the Seven Summits Trek expedition are the first ever to summit K2 in the winter. Even in the most favorable summer climbing conditions, K2 has earned the reputation as the “Savage Mountain” with winter bringing a whole different level of danger and challenge.

For his K2 Winter ascent, Nimsdai was equipped Osprey’s latest innovation, the Talon Pro. This lightweight, technical pack features Nanofly® fabric which integrates ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) ripstop and 100D nylon, creating an incredibly light fabric with remarkable abrasion resistance. Talon Pro’s all new injection-molded, die-cut foam AirScape backpanel is engineered with horizontal channels to allow flex in the vertical plane while staying flat horizontally. The backpanel paired with Osprey’s BioStretch harness and continuous wrap hipbelt work together to deliver a lightweight, ventilated and close-to body fit that’s ideal for dynamic body movement during demanding activities over the most technical terrain. Talon Pro will be available at osprey.com next month. In addition to the Osprey Talon Pro, Nimsdai was equipped with Osprey’s Mutant, the brand’s technical mountaineering pack. The Mutant was customized for Nimsdai in a 90L volume specifically for this expedition. The Mutant is currently available in 22L, 38L and 52L volumes on osprey.com.

“What a journey. I’m humbled to say that as a team, we have summited the magnificent K2 in extreme winter conditions,” said Nimsdai. “We set out to make the impossible possible and we are honored to be sharing this moment, not only with the Nepalese climbing community but with communities all across the world. Mother Nature always has bigger things to say and standing on the summit, witness to the sheer force of her extremities, we are proud to have been a part of history for humankind and to show that collaboration, teamwork and a positive mental attitude can push limits to what we feel might be possible. Thank you for the support we’ve received from people all around the globe, it gave us fire in our chest to make this goal a reality.”

Nimsdai has been an Osprey sponsored athlete since 2019 including the brand’s support of “Project Possible”, his summit of the world’s 14 highest mountains in 6 months and 6 days, shattering the fastest-known time of eight years.

“We have seen Nimsdai rewriting climbing history once more, and from everyone at Osprey I would personally like to congratulate Nimsdai and teams on such an incredible accomplishment,” said Gary Burnand, Head of Marketing at Osprey Europe. “Climbing K2 in Winter is not only one of the greatest but also toughest mountaineering challenge of all time and Nimsdai with his sheer determination, mental and physical strength was able to succeed in his mission. This really acts as inspiration for us all given the limitations many of us are under.”

About Osprey
Founded in 1974 and based in Cortez, Colorado, in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains, Osprey designs the highest performing and longest lasting carry solutions on the market including technical packs for outdoor, travel and everyday adventures.

In addition to creating top-quality packs, the Osprey team is focused on becoming the most progressive, transparent and sustainable hardgoods brand in the world. From raw materials and chemistry benchmarks to progressive factory code of conduct agreements and programs that extend a product’s end of life, Osprey is taking a truly holistic approach and looking at every aspect of their business to ensure they leave as little trace possible. Osprey’s dedication to create innovative, high performance, sustainable gear reflects the brand’s love of adventure, devotion to the outdoors and steadfast resolve to leave the world better than they found it.

To learn more about Osprey and its products backed by their industry leading All Mighty Guarantee, visit osprey.com. Osprey products can be found online at osprey.com and in specialty retailers in over 60 countries worldwide. Follow all brand updates on Instagram (@ospreypacks), Facebook (@ospreypacks) and Twitter (@ospreypacks).