Nirmal Purja, Renowned Mountaineer, Dies at 43 After Pakistan Avalanche
An avalanche struck a climbing expedition on Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, July 30, affecting a group of ten climbers that included Nepali mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. By the following days, rescuers had recovered several bodies from the mountain while a number of climbers remained unaccounted for, according to reporting from the Alpine Club of Pakistan and the climbers’ own expedition company, Elite Exped.
What happened
Accounts place the avalanche on the slope between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on Broad Peak, which stands at 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) according to Climbing, though ExplorersWeb and Desnivel give the peak’s height as 8,047 metres (26,401 feet) ExplorersWeb Climbing Desnivel. Reports differ on the exact time of the slide: ExplorersWeb put it at around 9:20 am Pakistan time, Climbing cited GPS tracks indicating it occurred between 8:57 am and 9:30 am, Desnivel reported 9:30 am local time, while Alpinist described it as shortly before noon, and ExplorersWeb separately noted the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s official press release described it as occurring around midday Alpinist Magazine. The elevation at which the avalanche hit is similarly disputed: ExplorersWeb reported around 6,660 metres (21,850 feet), Desnivel cited approximately 6,600 metres (21,654 feet), Climbing reported about 6,579 metres (21,580 feet), and Alpinist reported that GPS trackers became stationary above 7,800 metres (25,591 feet). GPS data showed the climbers had stopped ascending and then fallen several hundred metres; Climbing reported that American climber Mallory Geis’s tracker recorded a sudden descent of 543 metres (1,784 feet), while Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy’s tracker showed a fall of 1,651 metres (5,417 feet). Desnivel reported that Purja’s own tracker appeared to continue showing movement for a period after the avalanche, according to Elite Exped.
The people involved
Four teams were on the mountain at the time, per ExplorersWeb: Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi with his client Mallory Geis; Purja leading the Elite Exped team; an Imagine Nepal group, climbing without its leader Mingma G, who was on K2; and a Seven Summit Treks party ExplorersWeb. The Alpine Club of Pakistan’s initial report described five Nepalese mountaineers in the group led by Purja, later named across outlets as Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nawang Thendu Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa Climbing Desnivel. Also affected were Chinese climber Wang Zhong and Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, along with Sakhi and Geis. According to a July 31 press release from the Commissioner of Baltistan, cited by Climbing, rescuers recovered the bodies of Yukta Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis; Desnivel’s sourcing from Karakorum Expeditions similarly reported four bodies recovered at the base of the avalanche that morning, with Al Harthy and Gurung identified. A later Alpine Club of Pakistan update, reported by Climbing, said four further bodies — those of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa — were brought down to Camp 1 at 5,600 metres (18,368 feet). Climbing also reported that one body was spotted higher on the mountain but not recovered owing to risk, and that an amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the remaining climbers, was found. Sakhi, Geis, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa remained unaccounted for after those recoveries, per Climbing.
The response
The news reportedly reached the public first via Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped, according to Alpinist and Desnivel Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. The Alpine Club of Pakistan, headed by Major General Irfan Arshad, issued a press release expressing concern and said it was coordinating with government authorities and agencies to mobilise search and rescue support, including helicopters, subject to weather and operational conditions ExplorersWeb Climbing. ExplorersWeb reported that the Club’s Naila Kiani said the organisation only learned of the avalanche at 10 pm, nearly 13 hours after it occurred, and quoted her saying “We are all shocked”. Two helicopters were reported to be scheduled to fly to Broad Peak on Friday, August 1, carrying rescuers and oxygen. On August 1, Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram the deaths of Purja and Nima Sherpa and said it had received confirmation that other expedition members had also not survived, according to Climbing. Climbing further reported that Irfan Arshad Khan commented on Elite Exped’s post, asking the company to stop circulating such information until rescuers had reached the climbers, reflecting friction over the handling of the news. Rescue operations were reported by Climbing and Desnivel to be hampered by high-risk terrain, strong winds since the avalanche and poor weather, with the search set to resume on August 1 once conditions allowed. In the aftermath, the Juniper Fund launched a fundraiser for the families of six Nepali and Pakistani guides affected, while separate fundraisers were set up for Sakhi’s mother and brother, for Yukta Gurung’s wife and son by the film company Little Monsters Films, and for Kili Pemba Sherpa’s wife, Tashi Lhamu Sherpa.
Background and context
Purja had been on an expedition in Pakistan that Climbing and ExplorersWeb reported was initially intended to focus only on Gasherbrum II, part of his “Hat-Trick Project” supporting the Nimsdai Foundation, with the Broad Peak attempt added shortly before travel, according to Elite Exped ExplorersWeb Climbing. Purja had posted that completing Broad Peak would leave only Cho Oyu remaining for him to finish the 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen, having already completed the challenge once with oxygen in 2019 and once without in October 2024. Climbing reported that he had summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times, including 29 without supplemental oxygen, and had taken part in the winter ascent of K2 in January 2021. Climbing also noted that two women had accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature, and that a 2025 podcast by reporter Poppy Damon questioned some of those allegations. Sakhi, a guide with a mathematics degree, had spoken to ExplorersWeb the previous summer about pay inequity facing Pakistani guides, per Climbing’s reporting. Al Harthy, according to Desnivel, had summited Everest in 2019, K2 in 2022 and Nanga Parbat in 2024, and was pursuing all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks Desnivel. Wang Zhong had summited Gasherbrum II alongside Purja weeks earlier, with Shishapangma remaining for his own 14-peak project, per Climbing. Gurung, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Nawang Thendu Sherpa were each described by Climbing as experienced high-altitude guides with extensive 8,000-metre summit records.
What is not yet confirmed
The precise time and elevation of the avalanche remain inconsistently reported across outlets ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. The fate of Sakhi, Geis, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa had not been confirmed in the reporting supplied. The identity of the climber whose amputated leg was recovered, and of the body spotted at higher elevation, had not been established. It is not confirmed whether the single body seen higher on the mountain will be retrieved. Spelling variations for Geis/Geiss/Weis and Al Harthy/Nathira across outlets have not been resolved to a single confirmed form. The overall death toll from the ten-person group had not been finalised in the material reviewed.
Sources referenced
- Updated: Ten Missing, Including Nirmal Purja, After Avalanche on 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
- Renowned Nepalese-origin mountaineer Nirmal Purja dies in Broad Peak avalanche — ThePrint, 1 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- Renowned Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja dies in avalanche on Broad Peak — News On AIR, 1 Aug 2026, 07:00 UTC
- Nirmal Purja, Renowned Mountaineer, Dies at 43 After Pakistan Avalanche — The New York Times, 1 Aug 2026, 07:00 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 2 Sep 2026 00:45 UTC.
