“This Was Never The Plan”: Mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja On Why He Chose PoK Peak

An avalanche struck a group of ten climbers on the West Ridge normal route of Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram on Thursday, July 30, according to ExplorersWeb, Alpinist Magazine, Climbing and Desnivel ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. Among those killed or reported missing in the days that followed were Nirmal Purja, the Nepali climber known for his 14 Peaks Challenge, alongside guides and clients from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China.

What happened

Accounts of the timing differ. Alpinist reported the slide hit “shortly before noon local time,” while Climbing put it at about 9am and Desnivel at 9:30am, both on July 30 Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. Climbing noted that GPS tracks from the climbers’ devices indicate the avalanche occurred between 8:57am and 9:30am. News of the event was first carried by Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and by Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped.

Climbing placed the avalanche at roughly 6,579 metres (21,580 feet), between Camp II and Camp III of the standard route, while Desnivel cited a figure of around 6,600 metres Climbing Desnivel. Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, a mentor of guide Sohail Sakhi, said the overhang where the accident happened was clearly visible and that the entire snow-laden face likely moved, sweeping across the traverse. Alpinist reported that GPS trackers belonging to several missing climbers went stationary above 7,800 metres after the slide Alpinist Magazine. Climbing reported that American climber Mallory Geis’s tracker showed a sudden descent of 543 metres (1,784 feet), and that Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy’s tracker showed a descent of 1,651 metres (5,417 feet). Desnivel, citing Elite Exped, reported that Purja’s GPS track appeared to continue showing movement for some time after the avalanche struck.

The people involved

The Alpine Club of Pakistan named the ten climbers as Purja, Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, five other Nepali guides, and three clients from China, Oman and the United States Climbing. Desnivel named all ten individually: Purja, Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nwang Thendou Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa, all Nepali; Sohail Sakhi, Pakistani; Mallory Geis, American; Nadhira Al Harthy, Omani; and Wang Zhong, Chinese Desnivel.

Climbing reported that Purja was on Broad Peak as part of his own expedition, chiefly to continue his “Hat-Trick Project” supporting the Nimsdai Foundation, having decided only shortly before travelling to Pakistan to attempt the peak as well Climbing. A summit would have marked his thirteenth toward completing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks for a second time without supplemental oxygen, leaving only Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) in Tibet. He was accompanied by guides Yukta Gurung and Nima Sherpa, and the team made its attempt during what Climbing described as the final weather window of the season, alongside other groups.

Sohail Sakhi, a guide from the Hunza Valley trained as a mathematician, had summited Nanga Parbat without supplemental oxygen in 2025, along with K2, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II Climbing. He had told ExplorersWeb he felt Pakistani guides were underpaid relative to Western and Nepali counterparts. Geis, 39, a travel photographer and pilates studio owner from San Antonio, Texas, was Sakhi’s client; Broad Peak was her first attempt on an 8,000-metre peak, following earlier summits of Lobuche East and Mera Peak. Al Harthy was, according to Climbing, the first Omani woman to summit Everest, in 2019; Desnivel gave a fuller record, reporting she was also the first Omani woman to summit K2, in 2022, and the first Omani to summit Nanga Parbat, in 2024, alongside earlier ascents of Manaslu and Ama Dablam Desnivel. Wang Zhong had reached his eleventh 8,000-metre peak on July 4, summiting Gasherbrum II with Purja; Broad Peak would have been his thirteenth, leaving Shishapangma remaining.

Among the Nepali guides, Yukta Gurung had climbed 8,000-metre peaks 28 times, including ten Everest summits, and had supported Jim Morrison’s ski descent of the Hornbein Couloir the previous October Climbing. Kili Pemba Sherpa had completed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks weeks earlier, with Nanga Parbat on July 3, and had summited Everest 15 times. Nawang Thendu Sherpa, a guide with Seven Summit Treks Desnivel, had summited six 8,000-metre peaks by his mid-twenties and had taken part in earlier high-altitude rescues, including a post-avalanche search on Annapurna in 2025.

The response

The Commissioner of Baltistan reported on July 31 that rescuers had recovered three bodies — Yukta Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis Climbing. Desnivel, citing Karakorum Expeditions, reported instead that four bodies had been recovered at the base of the avalanche that morning, of which two were identified, Al Harthy and Gurung Desnivel. Climbing reported that rescuers had spotted several other climbers by drone but had not identified them or confirmed their condition as of that date. Desnivel reported that search efforts were hampered by high altitude and strong winds blowing since the avalanche, and Climbing reported the operation was set to resume on August 1 once weather improved.

On August 1, Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram the deaths of Purja and Nima Sherpa, prompting Alpine Club of Pakistan president Irfan Arshad Khan to comment on the post asking the company to hold off sharing information on other climbers until their bodies had been reached Climbing. ExplorersWeb reported that a recovery operation led by Mingma G, supported by Sirbaz Khan, Abid Baig and Sherbaz Karim of Pakistan and Dipen Gurung and Pemba Chhewang Sherpa of Nepal, was conducted from a precarious position at 5,000 metres and described by the Alpine Club of Pakistan as “an exceptionally challenging and technically demanding recovery operation” ExplorersWeb. Climbing reported that the bodies of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa were brought down to Camp 1 (5,600m/18,368ft), while ExplorersWeb reported they were brought to Base Camp. An amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the remaining climbers, was recovered, and one body was spotted higher on the mountain but not retrieved owing to the risk involved, per an Alpine Club of Pakistan post. ExplorersWeb reported that the bodies of Sakhi, Geis and Nawang Sherpa remained on the mountain, and that the Alpine Club of Pakistan said it remained committed to further recovery efforts when conditions allow. The Juniper Fund launched a fundraiser for the families of the six Nepali and Pakistani guides lost, while separate fundraisers were set up for Sakhi’s mother and brother, for Yukta Gurung’s wife and son, and for Kili Pemba Sherpa’s wife.

Background and context

Broad Peak, known locally as Falchan Kangri in the Balti language, sits in Gilgit-Baltistan and is described by Climbing as the world’s twelfth-highest mountain, with an elevation given as 8,051 metres (26,414 feet); Desnivel gave a figure of 8,047 metres Climbing Desnivel. Purja’s broader career included a speed record for completing the 14 Peaks Challenge without supplemental oxygen, finished in October 2024 after two years and 150 days, following an earlier completion using some supplemental oxygen in six months, documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible”. He took part in the first winter ascent of K2 in January 2021 and, per Climbing, summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times during his life, more than anyone in history, including 29 without supplemental oxygen. He had posted on Instagram less than a week before the avalanche that he had summited Gasherbrum II, his self-proclaimed 57th such summit. Climbing also noted that two women accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature, and that a 2025 podcast series questioned some of those allegations.

What is not yet confirmed

The precise time of the avalanche remains unsettled, with Alpinist, Climbing and Desnivel each giving a different hour Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. The exact elevation at which the slide struck, and Broad Peak’s own summit elevation, are reported with slightly varying figures across outlets. Accounts differ over how many bodies were recovered on July 31 and which were identified, and over whether the four bodies brought down afterwards reached Camp 1 or Base Camp ExplorersWeb. The condition and identity of the body spotted higher on the mountain, and the fate of the amputated limb recovered, have not been confirmed. The status of Sohail Sakhi, Mallory Geis and Nawang Thendu Sherpa, whose bodies remained on the mountain, was not resolved as of the latest reporting.

Sources referenced

• Four Bodies, Including Nirmal Purja's, Retrieved From Broad Peak — ExplorersWeb
• AVALANCHE: TEN CLIMBERS, INCLUDING NIRMAL PURJA, MISSING ON BROAD PEAK — Alpinist Magazine
• Who Were the 10 Climbers Caught in the Broad Peak Avalanche? — Climbing
• Avalancha en el Broad Peak: cuatro personas fallecidas y seis desaparecidas, entre ellas Nirmal Purja — Desnivel

Written by Andoram by combining 4 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.

Coverage timeline

• Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's Final Message Before Fatal Broad Peak Avalanche: 'Never Took A Mountain For Granted' — Menafn, 2 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
• Mountaineer Nirmal Purja's body found three days after deadly PoK avalanche — Rediff, 2 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
• "This Was Never The Plan": Mountaineer Nirmal 'Nims' Purja On Why He Chose PoK Peak — NDTV, 1 Aug 2026, 12:12 UTC

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 04:45 UTC.