No Survivors on Broad Peak

It’s only been a few days since the devastating avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. Search teams, operators’ home teams, and the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) have confirmed that there were no survivors. Now the priority has shifted from rescue to recovery.

Between 8:57 and 9:30 a.m. local time on July 30, between Camps Two and Three at 6,580-6,600m (21,587-21,653 feet), a devastating avalanche on Broad Peak, 8,047 m (26,401 ft), killed ten climbers, including Elite Expeditions co-founder Nirmal Purja.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan put out the official message:

It is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that I extend my deepest condolences on the tragic loss of the most accomplished mountaineers in the devastating avalanche on Broad Peak (8,047m) in the Karakoram.

This heartbreaking tragedy has deeply saddened the entire mountaineering community of Pakistan and around the world. The loss of these courageous climbers, who came from different nations united by their passion for the mountains, is an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity.

On behalf of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, I express my sincere sympathies to the bereaved families, friends, expedition organizers, and the mountaineering communities of all the countries affected by this tragedy. We stand in solidarity with them during this time of immense grief and pray that they find strength, courage, and comfort to bear this irreparable loss.

I also pay tribute to the Pakistan Army Aviation and other elements of the Pakistan Army, the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan departments, the Nepali government, high-altitude rescuers, Sherpas, local climbers, and all those who participated in the search and recovery operation under extremely difficult weather and terrain conditions. Their courage, commitment, and selfless efforts reflect the true spirit of humanity and mountaineering.

The mountains inspire us with their beauty, but they also remind us of the immense risks faced by those who venture into the high Himalaya and Karakoram. The legacy of these mountaineers will continue to inspire future generations with their courage, determination, and love for the mountains.

May Almighty Allah grant eternal peace to the departed souls and bestow patience and strength upon their families and loved ones.

Irfan Arshad Khan

President

Alpine Club of Pakistan

The climbers were affiliated with four operators: Elite Exped, Seven Summit Treks, Moving Mountains, and Imagine Nepal.

The situation remains fluid, but as of August 2, 2026, based on the Alpine Club of Pakistan’s latest available reports, this is the most current and accurate information I’m confident in reporting. The remains of Nirmal Purja, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Mallory Geis, Wang Zhong, and Nadhira Al Harthy have been recovered from the avalanche area, although efforts are still underway to bring several of them down the mountain. An eighth body has been located at a significantly higher elevation, but the terrain is currently too dangerous for a recovery attempt. Two climbers remain unlocated.

Here is a brief remembrance of each climber who died in the avalanche:

• Nepal-born British climber Nirmal Purja, 43, was a former British Army Gurkha who later served in the United Kingdom’s Special Boat Service. He became internationally known after climbing all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks in a then-record 189 days in 2019. He later co-founded Elite Exped and was one of the ten Nepali climbers who made the first winter ascent of K2 in 2021. He was pursuing a third completion of the fourteen peaks overall and a second without supplemental oxygen.

• Nepali  Kili Pemba Sherpa, “Kilu”,  summitted 8,126-meter Nanga Parbat, a few weeks earlier, thus completing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. He was on the team that made the first winter ascent of K2 in 2021. In 2018, Kili guided Chinese double-leg amputee Xia Boyu to the summit of Everest on his fifth attempt. He worked for Imagine Nepal.

• Nepali Nima Sherpa came from a farming background to become a well-respected mountain guide, summiting four 8000-meter peaks in one season already. He worked for Elite Exped.

• Nepali Nawang Thindu Sherpa, 29, came from a family of mountaineers and was already accomplished, in his own right, having summited Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Ama Dablam. He worked for Seven Summit Treks.

• Nepali Gyaljen Sherpa, 29, widely known as Gyalu, set a Guinness World Record by summiting Kangchenjunga three times in a single season. His climbing résumé included Lenin Peak, Mera Peak, Lobuche, Himlung Himal, Cholatse, Manaslu, Kangchenjunga, and Everest. He worked for Seven Summit Treks

• Nepali Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta”, 37,  was on his way to complete the fourteen 8000ers, with only two left. He was the first climber from the Gurung community to summit Everest 10 times. He worked for Elite.

• Pakistani Sohail Sakhi had successfully climbed some of the world’s highest mountains, including K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, and Kangchenjunga (8,586m). Several without supplemental oxygen. He was part of the Pakistani guide company Moving Mountains and a strong advocate for the rights of Pakistani mountain guides and porters. His body has not been found. This is an excellent piece on him. He reached out to me in April, 2025, with this opening: “My name is Sohail Sakhi and I am a Pakistani mountaineer, alpine climber & guide and want to share my experience working and climbing here for so many years with the greater public. For so many years the Pakistani climbing community has sat back while western companies have come and taken advantage of our porters, HAPs & guides while little benefit has been given to the community.”

• American Mallory Geis, 39, was on her first 8,000-meter climb after selling her Pilates business in San Antonio to expand her climbing career. Her family simply remembered her as “Mallory was a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends. She will be profoundly missed.” She was a client of Sakhi.

• Chinese mountaineer Wang Zhong was nearing his last 8000ers. He had completed twelve, including six during 2026 alone. His July summit of Gasherbrum II left only Broad Peak and Shishapangma. A successful Broad Peak ascent would have been his thirteenth, leaving only Shishapangma to complete the fourteen. He was guided by Nirmal Purja.

• Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, 48, was a civil servant, educator, and senior official with the Oman Scouts and Guides Organization. In 2019, she became the first Omani woman to summit Everest.

It appears that most teams on K2 have abandoned their climbs to assist in the search, bringing the 2026 Karakorum to a deadly close.

I assume an investigation will be conducted given that this is the second-deadliest single incident in Karakoram climbing history, after the 2008 K2 disaster, which killed eleven.

My deepest condolences to the families, friends, teammates, and communities of all ten climbers.

With a climber’s respect,
Alan
Memories are Everything