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Karakoram Dispatch

Texas climber among four dead after Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan, more people still missing

Andoram Desk3 September 2026 · 23:15 UTC · 3 sources

An avalanche struck a party of ten climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m, also given as 8,051m/26,414ft) in Pakistan’s Karakoram on Thursday, 30 July 2026, during the ascent between Camp 2 and Camp 3. Seven bodies were recovered in the days that followed, including those of prominent guide Nirmal “Nims” Purja, while three climbers remained unaccounted for as rescue efforts continued, according to Gripped Gripped.

What happened

Accounts place the avalanche on the standard West Ridge route, with ExplorersWeb, Alpinist, Climbing and Desnivel all confirming the ten-person team was caught between Camp 2 and Camp 3 ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. The timing is reported inconsistently across outlets: ExplorersWeb cited both around midday and roughly 9:20am, Alpinist said shortly before noon local time, Climbing put it at about 9am (with GPS tracks suggesting a window between 8:57 and 9:30am), and Desnivel gave 9:30am local time. The elevation of the strike zone is similarly imprecise, with estimates of approximately 6,660m (S1), 6,579m/21,580ft (S3), and 6,600m (S5). GPS trackers belonging to several climbers went stationary above 7,800 metres after the event, according to Alpinist, while ExplorersWeb reported that trackers showed the group halting its ascent around 9:30am before falling several hundred metres. Climbing reported specific descent figures from individual devices: Mallory Geis’s tracker recorded a sudden drop of 543 metres (1,784ft), while Nadhira Al Harthy’s showed a descent of 1,651 metres (5,417ft). Desnivel reported that Elite Exped said Purja’s track appeared to keep showing movement for some time afterward.

The people involved

The ten climbers named across the reporting were Nirmal “Nims” Purja, Sohail Sakhi, Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyalu Sherpa, Nawang Thendu Sherpa, Kili Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa, Mallory Geis, Nadhira Al Harthy and Wang Zhong, drawn from four separate expeditions on the mountain at the time ExplorersWeb Climbing Desnivel. ExplorersWeb noted that the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s initial release described the group only as five Nepalese climbers led by Purja, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American, one Chinese climber and one further foreign climber, before fuller names emerged. Purja, who had summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times according to Climbing, was attempting Broad Peak as an addition to his schedule shortly before travelling to Pakistan, as part of what Elite Exped called his “Hat-Trick Project” supporting the Nimsdai Foundation; a summit would have left him with only Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) remaining to complete all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres without supplemental oxygen for a second time. He was accompanied by guides Pur Bahadur Gurung and Nima Sherpa. Sakhi, a Hunza-based guide and mathematician, was guiding client Mallory Geis, a photographer from San Antonio for whom Broad Peak was a first attempt above 8,000 metres. Al Harthy, reported by both Climbing and Desnivel as the first Omani woman to summit Everest, had also climbed K2, Nanga Parbat, Ama Dablam and Manaslu. Wang Zhong, whose identity Climbing said was confirmed in a Nepalese government release, had summited Gasherbrum II alongside Purja weeks earlier. Kili Pemba Sherpa had completed all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, finishing on Nanga Parbat on 3 July 2026, and Nawang Thendu Sherpa had experience in prior high-altitude rescue efforts.

The response

News of the avalanche was first carried by Everest Chronicle before being confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Mingma David Sherpa of Elite Exped, according to Alpinist and Desnivel Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. ExplorersWeb reported that Naila Kiani of the Alpine Club of Pakistan said the club was only informed at 10pm that night, nearly 13 hours after the avalanche, despite each team having staff present at Base Camp, and quoted her saying “we are all shocked” ExplorersWeb. Major General Irfan Arshad, the club’s president, was reported to be coordinating with government authorities over search and rescue. ExplorersWeb said two helicopters carrying rescuers and oxygen were due to fly to the mountain on 31 July, while Desnivel reported that strong winds beginning the day of the avalanche, combined with high-altitude conditions, continued to hamper the search. Climbing reported that a 31 July release from the Commissioner of Baltistan confirmed three recovered bodies—Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis—while Desnivel cited Karakorum Expeditions as saying four bodies had been found at the base of the avalanche by that morning Climbing. Further recoveries followed: Climbing reported four additional bodies—Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa—were brought to Camp 1 (5,600m/18,368ft), alongside a further body spotted at a higher point that could not be retrieved, and an amputated leg presumed to belong to one of the missing climbers. Elite Exped confirmed Purja’s and Nima Sherpa’s deaths via social media on 1 August, after which the ACP’s Irfan Arshad Khan publicly asked the company to stop releasing information on other climbers ahead of rescuer confirmation. Gripped reported that seven bodies in total were eventually transported to Broad Peak base camp, with the recovery operation led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and supported by named Pakistani and Nepali climbers, and that the ACP thanked the Pakistan Army, the governments of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, local authorities, the British High Commission and the Embassy of Nepal Gripped.

Background and context

Broad Peak, at 8,051m (26,414ft) in the Karakoram range of Pakistan, is identified by multiple outlets as the world’s twelfth-highest mountain ExplorersWeb Climbing Gripped Desnivel. Purja had been documented in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” after completing all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres with partial oxygen use in six months, and later set a speed record finishing the challenge without supplemental oxygen on 4 October 2024, after two years and 150 days, according to Climbing. He took part in the January 2021 winter ascent of K2 alongside nine other Nepali alpinists. Climbing also noted that, following the 2024 documentary’s release, two women accused Purja of sexual assault in a New York Times feature, and that a 2025 podcast series questioned some of those allegations. Sakhi had spoken to ExplorersWeb the previous summer about pay inequity facing Pakistani guides, saying they had been “left behind” by Western and Nepali counterparts. Gurung, from Luprak near the epicentre of Nepal’s 2025 earthquake, had worked for Elite Exped since 2022 and had supported Jim Morrison’s ski descent of the Hornbein Couloir the previous October; Climbing reported that Little Monsters Films launched a fundraiser for his wife and son on 1 August, and that the Juniper Fund opened a separate fundraiser for the families of six Nepali and Pakistani guides killed.

What is not yet confirmed

The precise time and elevation of the avalanche remain inconsistent across outlets. The identities and condition of the three climbers still listed as missing by Gripped had not been confirmed Gripped. The body spotted at a higher point on the mountain had not been recovered due to risk, and it remains unclear whether further recovery attempts succeeded Climbing. The reason for the reported 13-hour delay in notifying the Alpine Club of Pakistan has not been explained ExplorersWeb. It is also unclear whether the amputated leg recovered by rescuers has since been matched to a specific individual.

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 23:15 UTC.

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