Nims Purja has achieved what I would have definitely called the impossible, and this movie is a must watch. It perforce has to rush through the feat, so read Nims' book, Beyond Possible too :: With the success of films like "Free Solo" and the popularity of the "Reel Rock Film Festival," and the recent release of "The Alpinist," climbing films have developed into a full-fledged genre. Two new documentaries about mountaineering are being released back to back this week.

Netflix's "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" showcases the remarkable accomplishment of Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal ("Nims") Purja to climb all 14 mountains with peaks higher than 8,000 meters in seven months. This is dangerous; the "Death Zone" is the elevation above 8,000 meters, where cold, wind, and avalanches can kill, and oxygen is scarce. Nims' is taking supplementary oxygen as protection after reaching the 8,000-meter mark. (Alpine style climbing is done without oxygen.)

Fun Fact: Reinhold Messner, who is interviewed in the documentary, was the first person to achieve this feat; it took him 16 years. Jimmy Chin, ("The Rescue") explains that a normal expedition takes two months to complete. So yes, this is ambitious, to say the least. 

Nims is not necessarily self-interested; his goal is to promote Nepali mountaineering, acknowledging it is teamwork and leadership that generates success. And he pays tribute to the Sherpas who are essential for doing the work. But the mission, dubbed "Project Possible," is risky, some even call it "crazy."

"14 Peaks," directed by Torquil Jones, chronicles Nims' climbs, which are done in three phases — in Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet/China. The climbs themselves make up too little of the film, which is disappointing for armchair enthusiasts. The breathtaking visuals are compensation, though, and it is thrilling to see the mountaineers use a ladder to cross a crevasse, or to watch the team scale up a snowy face.

 Much of the first half of the documentary profiles Nims, who has a "driven" personality. He talks about losing his belly fat (and is seen exercising to do so). He describes his Gurkha training and work for the U.K. special forces (cue video of him parachuting out of an airplane). An animated sequence depicts a close call with death he experienced. Nims' wife, brother and mother, (the latter is in ill health), are also interviewed, suggesting the film could have been retooled as a profile of him and been just as interesting.