LatestShawn Raboutou Makes V14/15 First Ascent in Patagonia
Andoram.
⚲SearchSubscribe
Karakoram Dispatch

Nirmal Purja, mountaineering legend, among 10 climbers killed in Broad Peak avalanche

Andoram Desk3 September 2026 · 04:00 UTC · 3 sources

An avalanche struck a team of ten climbers on Broad Peak, listed at 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) by Climbing Climbing and reported elsewhere as 8,047 metres ExplorersWeb Desnivel Gripped, in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, on Thursday, 30 July, killing at least seven and leaving three unaccounted for. The group, which included Nepali, Pakistani, Omani, Chinese and American climbers, was ascending the mountain’s standard route when the slope gave way between Camp II and Camp III Alpinist Magazine.

What happened

Accounts agree that the ten climbers were moving up Broad Peak’s West Ridge route when disaster struck, but the precise timing and mechanics of the event are described differently across outlets. The Alpine Club of Pakistan’s (ACP) press release stated the avalanche occurred “around midday,” while other reporting places it closer to 9:20am on the Thursday ExplorersWeb. Climbing reported the slide at about 9am, with GPS tracks narrowing the window to between 8:57am and 9:30am Climbing. Alpinist Magazine put the time at shortly before noon local time Alpinist Magazine, while Desnivel’s Spanish-language reporting fixed it at 9:30am local time Desnivel. ExplorersWeb noted that some reports described two separate avalanches rather than a single event.

The slide is reported to have struck at roughly 6,579 to 6,660 metres, with Desnivel placing the trigger point at about 6,600 metres ExplorersWeb Climbing Desnivel. Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, a mentor to climber Sohail Sakhi, said the overhanging feature at the site was clearly visible beforehand and that the entire snow-laden face moved, sweeping across the traverse the climbers were using. GPS trackers showed the climbers had stopped ascending around 9:30am Pakistan time before falling several hundred metres, with devices belonging to several missing climbers becoming stationary above 7,800 metres Alpinist Magazine. Individual tracker data varied widely: Mallory Geis’s unit recorded a sudden drop of 543 metres (1,784 feet), while Nadhira Al Harthy’s showed a fall of 1,651 metres (5,417 feet). Elite Exped reported that Nirmal Purja’s track appeared to show continued movement for some time after the avalanche.

News of the avalanche first emerged through Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the ACP and by Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. ExplorersWeb reported that the ACP itself did not learn of the avalanche until 10pm that night, almost 13 hours after it is believed to have occurred; ACP’s Naila Kiani told the outlet, “We only found out at 10pm,” adding that everyone was “shocked” ExplorersWeb. That delay, according to ExplorersWeb, ruled out any same-day helicopter rescue before dark.

The people involved

The ACP identified the ten climbers as team leader Nirmal “Nims” Purja, five Nepali climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, American climber Mallory Geis and Chinese climber Wang Zhong ExplorersWeb Climbing. The fuller roster named by Climbing and Desnivel included Purja, Sakhi, Geis, Al Harthy, Wang Zhong, Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nawang Thendu Sherpa and Kili Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa Desnivel. Four expedition operations were represented on the mountain: Sakhi’s team with client Geis, Purja’s EliteExped group, an Imagine Nepal team, and a Seven Summit Treks party. Imagine Nepal’s leader, Mingma G, was not on Broad Peak at the time, as he was on K2; according to Imagine Nepal, the climbers had reached Camp 2 on the Wednesday, intended to reach Camp 3 on the Thursday, and had planned to summit on the Friday.

Purja was, by his own account, a last-minute addition to the climb, having originally planned to attempt only Gasherbrum II on the trip ExplorersWeb. Elite Exped said the Broad Peak attempt formed part of his “Hat-Trick Project” in support of the Nimsdai Foundation, added shortly before departure as a planned thirteenth summit toward a second round of the 14 Peaks Challenge without supplemental oxygen Climbing. He had summited Gasherbrum II less than a week earlier, which he described on social media as his 57th 8,000-metre summit. Had he survived Broad Peak, only Cho Oyu, 8,188 metres (26,864 feet), would have remained for a second oxygen-free completion of all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks.

Other climbers on the team carried extensive high-altitude records. Sakhi, a guide, photographer and drone pilot from Hunza Valley, had summited Nanga Parbat without supplemental oxygen in 2025 and had also climbed K2, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II Climbing. Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, was his client, a travel photographer and pilates studio owner for whom Broad Peak was a first 8,000-metre attempt. Al Harthy, according to Desnivel, was the first Omani woman to summit Everest and the first Omani person to summit K2 and Nanga Parbat Desnivel; Climbing added that she had also summited Ama Dablam and Manaslu and worked as a geology teacher. Wang Zhong had summited Gasherbrum II alongside Purja weeks earlier and would have reached his thirteenth 8,000-metre peak on Broad Peak. Gurung, an Elite Exped lead guide since 2022, had climbed 8,000-metre peaks 28 times, including ten Everest summits. Kilu Sherpa, an Imagine Nepal guide, had completed all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks weeks before the avalanche, finishing on Nanga Parbat.

The response

The ACP said it remained in constant contact with government authorities to coordinate search and rescue ExplorersWeb Climbing Gripped. Two helicopters were scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on the Friday carrying rescuers and oxygen, with further resources to be mobilised depending on weather and operational conditions. Desnivel reported that high altitude and strong winds blowing since the avalanche hampered the search Desnivel.

Recovery proceeded in stages. On 31 July, Karakorum Expeditions reported recovering four bodies at the base of the avalanche, two of which were identified as Al Harthy and Gurung Desnivel. A same-day release from the Commissioner of Baltistan said three bodies, those of Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis, had been recovered, and that drones had spotted several other climbers whose identities and condition remained unconfirmed Climbing. Search operations were set to resume on 1 August once poor weather eased. A subsequent ACP update reported four further bodies, those of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kilu Sherpa, recovered and transported to Camp 1 at 5,600 metres (18,368 feet). One body was spotted at a higher point but not retrieved owing to risk, and one amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the climbers still on the mountain, was also recovered.

Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram on 1 August the deaths of Purja and Nima Sherpa, and said it had received confirmation that other team members had not survived Climbing. ACP president Major General Irfan Arshad publicly asked Elite Exped to stop circulating such information until a rescue team had physically reached the climbers. Gripped reported that seven bodies were eventually recovered in total: Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa, Kilu Sherpa, Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis Gripped. The ACP described the recovery mission as “exceptionally challenging and technically demanding,” crediting Mingma G with leading the operation and naming Pakistani climbers Sirbaz Khan, Abid Baig and Sherbaz, and Nepali climbers Dipen Gurung and Pemba Chhewang Sherpa, as contributors. The club also thanked the Pakistan Army, the governments of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, local authorities, supporting agencies, the British High Commission and the Embassy of Nepal. The Juniper Fund launched a fundraiser for the families of the six Nepali and Pakistani guides lost.

Background and context

Broad Peak is the world’s twelfth-highest mountain, according to several outlets, and sits in Pakistan’s Karakoram range ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. Purja had summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times, a figure reported as more than anyone else in history, including 29 without supplemental oxygen Climbing. He completed all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks without supplemental oxygen on 4 October 2024, after two years and 150 days, having earlier finished the same challenge using some supplemental oxygen in six months five years prior. That oxygen-free feat was documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,” and in January 2021 Purja and nine other Nepali alpinists made the first successful winter ascent of K2. Following the documentary’s release, two women accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature; a 2025 podcast by reporter Poppy Damon questioned some of those allegations. Purja was co-founder of Elite Exped and founder of the Nimsdai Foundation, which runs educational and environmental programmes in Nepal.

What is not yet confirmed

As of Gripped’s reporting, three climbers remained missing, with recovery teams saying efforts would continue when conditions allowed, and the ACP stating it remained committed to returning the remaining climbers to their families Gripped. The exact number and timing of the avalanche or avalanches is unresolved, with sources differing on whether one or two slides occurred and giving starting times ranging from roughly 9am to midday ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. The identity and condition of the climber spotted at a higher elevation, whose body was not retrieved, has not been confirmed. Discrepancies also remain over Broad Peak’s precise elevation, cited as both 8,047 metres and 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) across sources.

Sources referenced

Written by Andoram by combining 5 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.

Coverage timeline

This page is an automatically compiled index of third-party reporting. Headlines and links belong to their publishers; Andoram reproduces no article text. Last compiled 3 Sep 2026 04:00 UTC.

Read next

Shawn Raboutou Makes V14/15 First Ascent in Patagonia

Shawn Raboutou Makes V14/15 First Ascent in Patagonia