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Karakoram Dispatch

Who is Nirmal Purja, the famed mountaineer killed in Broad Peak avalanche?

Andoram Desk3 September 2026 · 16:45 UTC · 3 sources

An avalanche struck a group of ten climbers on Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, July 30, 2026, as they moved between Camp II and Camp III on the mountain’s standard route. By the time search teams could report back, seven bodies had been recovered, including that of expedition leader Nirmal Purja, while three climbers remained unaccounted for ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel Gripped.

What happened

Broad Peak stands at 8,047 metres according to some outlets and 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) according to others ExplorersWeb Desnivel Climbing. The climbers were ascending the West Ridge, generally considered the mountain’s normal route, when the slope gave way Alpinist Magazine. Accounts of the timing vary: ExplorersWeb put the avalanche at around 9:20am, the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s release said “around midday,” Alpinist reported “shortly before noon,” and Climbing cited GPS data placing the event between 8:57am and 9:30am, a window that roughly aligns with Desnivel’s figure of 9:30am local time. The altitude at which it struck is similarly disputed, with ExplorersWeb and Imagine Nepal citing approximately 6,660 metres, Climbing’s GPS-based estimate placing it lower at about 6,579 metres, and Desnivel giving a middle figure of roughly 6,600 metres. Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, who mentored one of the climbers, said the overhang where the slide occurred was clearly visible beforehand and that the whole snow-laden face moved, sweeping across the traverse. GPS trackers showed several climbers halting their ascent around 9:30am before falling hundreds of metres; some devices became stationary above 7,800 metres, while Mallory Geis’s tracker recorded a sudden drop of 543 metres and Nadhira Al Harthy’s showed a descent of 1,651 metres. According to Elite Exped, Nirmal Purja’s own track appeared to keep registering movement for a period after the avalanche.

The people involved

The group was described by the Alpine Club of Pakistan as including five Nepali climbers led by Purja, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi of Hunza, Omani mountaineer Nadhira Al Harthy, American climber Mallory Geis, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and one other foreign climber ExplorersWeb. Purja, co-founder of Elite Exped and founder of the Nimsdai Foundation, had completed the 14 Peaks Challenge without supplemental oxygen in October 2024 and, five years earlier, with some oxygen use, a feat recorded in the Netflix film “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” Climbing. He took part in the first winter ascent of K2 in January 2021 and had summited 8,000-metre peaks 57 times, 29 of them without supplemental oxygen, according to Climbing. He was accompanied on Broad Peak by guides Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung and Nima Sherpa. Sakhi, a mathematician by training who also worked as a drone pilot and mountain photographer, had previously climbed Nanga Parbat, K2 and both Gasherbrum peaks, and had spoken to ExplorersWeb the previous summer about pay inequities facing Pakistani guides. His client, Mallory Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, had summited Lobuche East (6,119m) and Mera Peak (6,476m) in Nepal, with Broad Peak her first 8,000-metre attempt. Al Harthy, described by Climbing as the first Omani woman to summit Everest in 2019 and by Desnivel as the first Omani to climb Everest, K2 and Nanga Parbat, had also climbed Ama Dablam and Manaslu and worked as a geology teacher and scouting official Desnivel. Wang Zhong had summited Gasherbrum II alongside Purja earlier in the season and was working toward his 13th 8,000-metre peak. Gurung, an IMFGA-certified guide from Luprak, Nepal, had climbed 8,000-metre peaks 28 times, including ten Everest ascents. Kili Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa, a lead guide for Imagine Nepal, had completed all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks weeks earlier and had summited Everest 15 times. Nawang Thendu Sherpa, a Seven Summit Treks guide, had climbed six 8,000-metre peaks by his mid-twenties and had taken part in earlier high-altitude rescues.

The response

News of the avalanche broke via Everest Chronicle before the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped, confirmed it Alpinist Magazine Desnivel. Naila Kiani of the ACP told ExplorersWeb that the club only learned of the avalanche around 10pm that evening, nearly 13 hours after it occurred, saying the club was “shocked” ExplorersWeb. Two helicopters were scheduled to fly to Broad Peak the following day carrying rescuers and oxygen, though strong winds that had persisted since the avalanche hampered operations, according to Desnivel. On July 31, Karakorum Expeditions reported four bodies recovered at the base of the slide, identified as Al Harthy and Gurung, though the Commissioner of Baltistan’s release that day listed three bodies, naming Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis Climbing. Drones later spotted additional climbers whose identities and condition had not been confirmed. A subsequent ACP update reported four further bodies transported to Camp 1 (5,600m): Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa, while one body at a higher location was left unrecovered owing to risk, and an amputated leg believed to belong to one of the remaining climbers was retrieved. Elite Exped confirmed Purja’s and Nima Sherpa’s deaths via Instagram on August 1, prompting ACP president Irfan Arshad Khan to ask the company to withhold further statements until rescuers reached the climbers. By the time of Gripped’s report, the recovery count stood at seven of the ten climbers, with the operation led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and the ACP thanking the Pakistan Army, the governments of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, local authorities, the British High Commission and the Embassy of Nepal Gripped. The ACP described the mission as technically demanding and conducted in difficult mountain conditions, and said it remained committed to locating the three climbers still missing. The Juniper Fund and individual fundraisers were launched for several guides’ families, including Gurung’s wife and son and Kilu’s wife, Tashi Lhamu Sherpa.

Background

Broad Peak, known locally as Falchan Kangri, sits in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region Climbing. Purja had been on Broad Peak pursuing what Elite Exped called his “Hat-Trick Project,” aiming for a 13th summit toward completing all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks without supplemental oxygen for a second time, with Cho Oyu (8,188m) in Tibet to follow. He had posted that adding Broad Peak to a trip originally planned around Gasherbrum II was a late decision, since it would leave only Cho Oyu remaining ExplorersWeb. Less than a week before the avalanche he had announced his 57th 8,000-metre summit on Gasherbrum II. Climbing noted that, following the Netflix documentary’s release, two women had accused Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature, and that a 2025 podcast series had questioned some of those allegations.

What is not yet confirmed

Although Gripped reported all ten climbers as killed, the three bodies not yet recovered remained unlocated at the time of reporting, with search efforts set to continue when conditions allowed Gripped. Sources differ on Broad Peak’s precise elevation, on the time the avalanche struck, and on the altitude at which it occurred, without a single reconciled figure ExplorersWeb Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. The spelling of the ACP president’s name appears inconsistently across accounts as Irfan Arshad or Irfan Arshad Khan. The full identity of the tenth climber referenced only as “one other foreign climber” in the ACP’s initial release had not been reported. It also remains unclear whether the body spotted at a higher elevation was ever recovered.

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 16:45 UTC.

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