British Netflix climbing star furiously denies intercourse act claims

A British-Nepalese special forces soldier turned world-famous mountaineer has ‘unequivocally denied’ allegations that he attempted to undress a Finnish model before performing a sex act in front of her in a Nepalese hotel.

Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, who garnered worldwide fame following a 2021 Netflix documentary on his record-breaking climbs, faced allegations by former Miss Finland and mountain climber Lotta Hintsa in an interview with the New York Times last week.

Hintsa, 35, alleged that 40-year-old Purja removed her shirt, shorts and underwear despite her repeated pleas, and went on to perform a sex act in front of her without consent following what she described as a business meeting in a hotel suite in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 30 last year. 

Responding to the allegations in a social media post, Purja’s team declared the climber ‘unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’ before describing Hintsa’s statement as ‘defamatory and false’.

The post also claimed he provided NYT reporters with ‘a very detailed timeline of his location and activities on March 30 which demonstrates that the events alleged to have occurred on that day are literally impossible’.

Hintsa first outlined the ordeal in Finnish-language book ‘The Mountains of My Life 2’, writing about an ‘absurd, unreal and unpleasant situation’ she experienced with an unnamed climber who tried to ‘kiss her without warning’ in a Nepalese hotel.

But she subsequently named that climber as Purja in her interview with the New York Times last week and provided more details of their alleged encounter. 

She told the publication that she recalled thinking: ‘I just need to get out of this and pretend that it never happened,’ adding that she repeatedly told Purja ‘no’ and provided excuses not to engage in sexual activity so as not to ‘agitate’ him. 

Nepalese-born Purja became a Gurkha in the British Army in 2003 and later became the first Gurkha to be selected for the Special Boat Service (SBS) before leaving the special forces to pursue new ventures in mountaineering.

In 2018, he received an MBE for his work in the armed forces and high altitude mountaineering, and three years later shot to fame off the back of a 2021 documentary entitled ’14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible’ that was released via Netflix. 

The film charted his quest to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre-high mountains in under seven months – a feat he ultimately achieved in six months and six days. 

Purja has also set various other mountaineering records and world-firsts, and has performed lifesaving rescues of multiple climbers at high altitude, some of which were detailed in the documentary.

Hintsa meanwhile has pursued mountaineering and long-distance running following her career as a model.

The daughter of the late Aki Hintsa – a renowned Finnish doctor who was the chief medic for McLaren Formula 1 team before launching a high-performance coaching business – Lotta was crowned Miss Finland in 2013 and represented her country at the Miss Universe pageant of the same year.

She was also a contestant on Finland’s Dancing With The Stars in 2018 and built an extensive modelling portfolio, including an appearance as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. 

She recently launched a YouTube channel named High Altitude Experience in which she details her travels and climbs worldwide. 

MailOnline has contacted the representatives of Purja and Hintsa for comment. 

Purja in May last year pulled off a dramatic rescue of a stricken climber close to the summit of Mount Everest in what was described as the highest ever mountain rescue.

The former special forces operator saved the life of a Nepalese climber who collapsed on Everest’s 28,704ft-high (8748m) South Summit – just 328ft below its main peak. 

Purja and three other Everest guides spent four hours lowering Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri to Camp Four at 25,035ft (7630m) after he had spent the night stranded in the ‘death zone’ above 26,200ft – the so-called because of the lack of oxygen, extreme cold and high winds.

Posting a video of the rescue on social media, Purja said: ‘Leaving someone behind isn’t in the blood.’

The pair were later pictured together in Kathmandu hospital celebrating the successful rescue, with Captain Khatri seen recovering from severe frostbite, but happy to be alive. 

That daring rescue came months after Purja was involved in a skydiving accident in Seville that resulted in the death of a British army parachutist.

Sergeant Dean Walton, 36, plunged to his death after attempting an unplanned stunt at 3,000ft which saw his parachute become entangled with that of Purja. 

Walton had attempted to land on top of Purja’s parachute in a manoeuvre known as a ‘canopy stack’, but the force of the landing caused Purja’s parachute to collapse.  

The British-Nepalese operator cut his parachute away to deploy his reserve chute, but Walton was unable to do so and plummeted to his death. 

Purja at the time said he was ‘devastated’ and described his partner as a ‘a legend in skydiving’ who was ‘super talented and just loved what he did’.