Broad Peak Avalanche Kills Nirmal Purja and Nine Other Climbers, Leaving Nepal Mourning Six Guides

Ten Climbers Lost on a Remote Karakoram Route

An avalanche struck an international expedition on Pakistan's Broad Peak on July 30, killing 10 climbers, including British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja and five other elite Nepali guides. The group was swept away around 9 a.m. local time at approximately 6,579 meters on the west ridge, between camps two and three.

Purja, 43, led an expedition bringing together guides and clients from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China. Broad Peak rises to 8,051 meters in the remote Karakoram range and is the world's 12th-highest mountain. Its isolation complicated the effort to recover those lost, with difficult weather and terrain restricting helicopter operations.

Elite Exped, the company Purja founded, confirmed the deaths on August 1 and expressed profound sadness. As of August 5, the tragedy had brought mourning to Nepal's climbing community and tributes from abroad, while recovery teams had faced continuing difficulties reaching and moving bodies.

The six Nepali climbers had spent years building skills through expeditions, guiding and rescue work. Their achievements ranged from speed records on the world's highest mountains to helping climbers with disabilities reach summits. Their deaths leave families grieving and remove experienced leaders from an industry that depends on knowledge passed from one climbing season to the next.

Purja Joined the Expedition Late

Nirmal Purja had not originally planned to climb Broad Peak on this trip. He joined the expedition late while pursuing a second round of all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters without supplemental oxygen. These mountains are commonly called the eight-thousanders, a term describing their height in meters.

Known as Nims or Nimsdai, Purja became internationally famous in 2019 when he climbed all 14 in 189 days. In 2021, he led an all-Nepali team on the first winter ascent of K2. Those achievements placed him among the most prominent figures in modern mountaineering.

Purja also had a long military career. He served for 16 years in the British military, including a decade in special forces, and received an MBE in 2018. Beyond his expeditions, he founded Elite Exped and the Nimsdai Foundation, which supported education in mountain communities.

His career connected military service, commercial guiding and projects in Nepal's mountain communities. Following his death, tributes addressed both his climbing achievements and his service in Britain.

Two Guides With Extensive Summit Experience

Kili Pemba Sherpa, 46, had completed all 14 eight-thousanders only weeks before the avalanche, finishing with a summit of Nanga Parbat. Born in Nepal's Rolwaling Valley, he began expedition work at 16 and climbed Everest 15 times.

His guiding career included taking double amputees to the summits of Everest and Manaslu. He also helped establish the standard route on Manaslu, contributing practical knowledge that other teams used to climb the mountain.

Pur Bahadur Gurung, 37, known as Yukta, had climbed 12 of the world's 14 highest peaks. He was the first person from the Gurung community to summit Everest 10 times and worked as a lead guide for Elite Exped.

Gurung also participated in rescues. His experience, like Kili Pemba Sherpa's, extended beyond reaching summits himself: it included helping other climbers move through dangerous terrain and supporting them when expeditions encountered trouble.

Three More Nepali Climbers Remembered

Gyaljen Sherpa, from Okhaldhunga, had set a record by summiting Kanchenjunga three times in one season. He worked for nearly eight years with Seven Summit Treks, building experience through repeated expeditions.

Nima Sherpa, 36, had already climbed four eight-thousanders in 2026 before joining the Broad Peak trip. Nawang Thindu Sherpa, 29, came from a family of climbers and had summited six peaks above 8,000 meters, including Everest and Makalu.

All six Nepali climbers had trained for years, and several held international certifications. Their careers reflected different kinds of mountain experience: leading clients, climbing repeatedly in a single season, taking part in rescues and working across multiple major peaks.

Together, they represented decades of accumulated expertise. That experience included understanding routes, establishing camps and making decisions during difficult expeditions, responsibilities that become especially demanding in remote mountain ranges.

Climbers From Four Other Countries

Nadhira Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to summit Everest and later K2. Her participation in the expedition brought another accomplished climber to a group with experience across several of the world's highest mountains.

American climber Mallory Geis, 39, had closed her Pilates studio to pursue climbing full time. Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, 33, had summited several peaks without oxygen and advocated for better pay for local mountain workers.

Chinese climber Wang Zhong had reached his 11th eight-thousander shortly before the Broad Peak trip. Alongside the six Nepali climbers, these four made up the 10 people killed in the avalanche.

The expedition's membership reflected growing international interest in Pakistan's high peaks. It also brought together people whose involvement in climbing took different forms, from pursuing personal summit goals to guiding clients and pressing for better conditions for workers.

Why Pakistan's Peaks Complicate Expeditions

Nepali guides often travel to Pakistan during the monsoon season, when routes in Nepal close. The Karakoram contains five of the world's 14 highest peaks, yet it attracts far fewer visitors than the Himalayas and has limited infrastructure.

Teams on these remote routes must fix ropes, cut steps and establish camps themselves. Fixed ropes provide a line climbers can use along difficult sections, while steps and camps help make movement and rest possible during an ascent.

Access is so difficult that climbers often try to climb several peaks during one trip. That can create tight schedules, adding pressure to expeditions already dependent on weather and the demands of the route.

Nepal, by comparison, has developed trails, lodges and an integrated helicopter rescue network. On Pakistan's peaks, rescue helicopters can struggle even to reach base camps, and places where they can land higher on the mountain are scarce.

The same isolation that makes the Karakoram challenging also complicates rescue and recovery. Difficult weather can restrict flight operations, while teams on the ground must work through terrain exposed to further avalanches.

Recovery Teams Faced Weather and Avalanche Risk

Pakistani rescuers located four bodies on the first day of the operation but retrieved only three because of the weather. Ground teams later reached Purja and three others at around 5,700 meters. Three climbers were initially unaccounted for.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan coordinated the operation with limited capacity to use helicopters equipped for long-line recovery. This method uses a line beneath a helicopter to reach a location where the aircraft cannot land.

Bodies were moved to lower camps before being taken farther down. Harsh weather, difficult terrain and continuing avalanche risk slowed the operation throughout. The recovery account did not give a final tally of how many bodies had been brought off the mountain by August 5.

The main dates in the tragedy and its aftermath were:

• July 30: The avalanche struck around 9 a.m. at approximately 6,579 meters between camps two and three on Broad Peak.
• August 1: Elite Exped confirmed the deaths and expressed profound sadness.
• By August 5: Recovery efforts had faced weather and access difficulties, while memorials and tributes followed in Nepal and abroad.

Mourning in Kathmandu and Beyond

Hundreds of mourners gathered at candlelight vigils in Kathmandu, where Buddhist monks chanted prayers. Communities in the victims' home villages also held private memorials.

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah expressed shock and praised the climbers' courage. Purja's family issued statements expressing pride amid their grief.

Prince William acknowledged Purja's distinguished military service and mountaineering achievements. UK officials and climbing figures around the world also offered condolences.

The mourning reflected the climbers' connections to several communities: their families and home villages, the companies where they worked, the clients they guided and the wider world of mountaineering.

A Loss of Mentors and Mountain Knowledge

Nepal's mountaineering industry lost six experienced guides in a single avalanche. Industry leaders described the deaths as a blow that would take years to overcome, because training a guide to international standards requires repeated expeditions and practical experience.

Companies recruit climbers from remote villages and develop their skills over successive seasons. Training can provide a foundation, but the experience needed to lead on major peaks grows through work on the mountains themselves.

The men killed on Broad Peak had become mentors, route experts and expedition leaders. Kili Pemba Sherpa's work with climbers with disabilities, Gurung's rescue experience and the repeated summit achievements of their colleagues illustrate the range of skills now missing from the guiding community.

Some observers expect calls for stricter safety measures following the avalanche. Past disasters, however, have rarely produced lasting changes in practices at high altitude. The immediate loss is both personal and professional, affecting families while leaving companies and younger guides without experienced colleagues.

Key Points

• Ten climbers died in an avalanche on Broad Peak on July 30, including Nirmal Purja and five other elite Nepali guides.
• The avalanche struck around 9 a.m. at approximately 6,579 meters, between camps two and three on the west ridge.
• Elite Exped confirmed the deaths on August 1.
• The expedition included climbers and guides from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States and China.
• Poor weather, remote terrain and limited helicopter capacity slowed recovery operations.
• The six Nepali climbers left a legacy of summit records, rescue work, route development and guiding climbers with disabilities.
• Vigils and tributes followed in Nepal and abroad, while industry leaders warned that rebuilding the lost guiding expertise would take years.