August 2, 2026 | Outdoor News / Expedition Updates
The hope that held the mountaineering world through Friday has been extinguished.
In the early hours of Saturday, August 1, Elite Exped, the guiding company co-founded by Nirmal "Nimsdai" Purja, posted a statement confirming what rescuers and families had feared: Purja did not survive the avalanche that struck Broad Peak on Thursday morning. The company also confirmed that fellow Nepali guide Nima Sherpa was among those who perished.
The announcement marked the end of a agonizing 48-hour wait and shifted the operation on Broad Peak from rescue to recovery. By the close of August 1, three bodies had been physically recovered and transported from the mountain: Nepali IFMGA guide Pur Bahadur "Yukta" Gurung, Omani pioneer Nadhira Al Harthy, and American climber Mallory Geis. The remaining seven climbers, including Purja, are now confirmed or presumed dead.
What Happened: The Avalanche & Location
The avalanche occurred between 8:57 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, July 30, at approximately 6,579 meters (21,580 feet) on the exposed traverse between Camp II and Camp III on Broad Peak's standard West Ridge route.
GPS tracking data reveals the terrifying scale of the slide. American climber Mallory Geis's tracker registered a sudden descent of 543 meters (1,784 feet), while Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy's device recorded a drop of 1,651 meters (5,417 feet), nearly to the base of the mountain.
National Geographic, which has covered Purja's career extensively, reported that his Garmin device broadcast his position for four hours after leaving Camp 2. His final pings showed him at 6,660 meters just before 9 a.m., then more than 2,000 feet below just 30 minutes later. The same signature — rapid descent followed by a short final displacement, appeared on Al Harthy's tracker.
Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, mentor to Sohail Sakhi, analyzed satellite imagery and described the likely trigger: "The overhang where the accident took place is clearly visible. Most probably the entire, snow-laden face moved, sweeping the entire traverse."
A critical and now deeply scrutinized detail has emerged: the alarm was not raised until nearly 10:00 p.m. , nearly 13 hours after the avalanche, despite each team maintaining staff at Base Camp and other climbers being in the area. That delay cost rescuers the critical daylight hours when helicopter operations might have been possible.
The Expedition Team & High-Altitude Community
The ten-member team was led by Nirmal "Nims" Purja, the 43-year-old Nepali alpinist who rose to global fame through the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. Purja held the speed record for climbing all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen, a feat he completed in October 2024 after 2 years and 150 days, and had recently summited his 57th eight-thousander, Gasherbrum II, on July 21.
In a cruel twist of timing, Purja had posted on Instagram just days earlier after the Gasherbrum II ascent: "The mountains never owe us anything. Sometimes they welcome us; sometimes they don't. This time, they granted us safe passage, and for that I am deeply thankful."
Elite Exped's statement on Saturday morning was somber and direct: "No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss. We mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy."
Among those confirmed or presumed dead is Sohail Sakhi, the 35-year-old elite high-altitude guide from Pakistan's Hunza Valley. A mathematician by training, Sakhi was a passionate advocate for Pakistani guides and had spoken publicly about pay inequity and the need for greater recognition of local high-altitude workers in the Karakoram. He had summited Nanga Parbat without supplemental oxygen in 2025, in addition to K2, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II. Rescuers located his backpack and a broken Garmin device among the debris.
The international clients included Mallory Geis, 39, a travel photographer and pilates studio owner from San Antonio, Texas, for whom Broad Peak marked her first attempt on an 8,000-meter peak. Geis had closed her studio earlier this year to take, as she wrote, "a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes."
Nadhira Al Harthy, 48, was the first Omani woman to summit Everest (2019) and was pursuing her own 14 Peak Project. A geology teacher and civil servant, she represented Oman in the GLOBE Program and had also summited K2, Manaslu, and Ama Dablam.
Wang Zhong of China had reached eleven 8,000-meter summits and would have made Broad Peak his thirteenth. China's government confirmed on Friday it was working to verify whether any nationals were among the missing and offered assistance to Pakistan.
The Nepali guide team included some of the industry's most decorated professionals: Pur Bahadur "Yukta" Gurung, an IFMGA-certified guide with 28 ascents of 8,000-meter peaks including ten Everest summits and two K2 ascents; Kili Pemba "Kilu" Sherpa, who had completed all 14 eight-thousanders and was part of the historic 2021 winter K2 first ascent team; Gyalu Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks; Nima Sherpa, whose death was confirmed by Elite Exped; and Nawang Thindu Sherpa.
Rescue Operations & Challenges
Search-and-rescue operations resumed Saturday morning, August 1, after being suspended Friday due to severe weather and heavy snowfall. Ground search teams led by Pakistani climber Sirbaz Khan were joined by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa ("Mingma G") from Nepal, Pakistan Army personnel, and additional Sherpa teams.
Two Pakistan Army Aviation helicopters were dispatched carrying experienced local climbers Sirbaz Khan and Sherzad Karim to conduct aerial reconnaissance. However, weather continued to hamper efforts throughout the day.
By late Friday, the Gilgit-Baltistan government confirmed that three bodies had been recovered and transported to a hospital: Pur Bahadur "Yukta" Gurung, Nadhira Al Harthy, and Mallory Geis. A fourth body had reportedly been spotted by drone but remained unidentified.
Multiple K2 expeditions, including teams led by American guide Benny Lieber, voluntarily aborted their summit pushes to redirect personnel and resources toward Broad Peak. According to sources at K2 Base Camp, all expeditions on the world's second-highest peak have been cancelled for the remainder of the season.
Mingma David Sherpa, Purja's partner at EliteExped, flew to Pakistan to join the search. The Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Nepali Embassy in Islamabad is coordinating directly with Pakistani authorities.
However, the window for survival has closed. Thaneshwar Guragain, general manager of Seven Summit Treks, noted that rescue operations in Pakistan move far more slowly than in Nepal due to military coordination requirements and limited helicopter availability. When asked about the chances of finding survivors, he said hope was narrowing sharply.
By the close of August 1, Elite Exped's confirmation made the reality undeniable: this is no longer a rescue mission. It is a recovery.
Community Statement & Reflection
To the Explorerelite.com community:
We are now past the 48-hour mark. In the high-altitude world, that is a threshold that shifts the language permanently from "rescue" to "recovery." The confirmation from Elite Exped — the company Nims Purja built — is the final, heartbreaking punctuation on a tragedy that has already claimed at least three lives and will likely claim the full ten.
Broad Peak, locally known as Falchan Kangri, is often described as one of the more "accessible" eight-thousanders. This tragedy is a stark reminder that there is no such thing as a forgiving 8,000-meter peak. The mountain does not distinguish between a Netflix-famous record holder and a first-time client. It does not care about summit counts or sponsorship logos.
What matters now is the human cost. Ten families across Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, China, and the United States are living through an unimaginable grief. High-altitude workers — Sherpas, guides, and porters — continue to bear disproportionate risk in the shadows of headlines that often focus on foreign clients. Today, we honor them equally.
Yukta Gurung was not "support staff"; he was an IFMGA-certified professional with 28 eight-thousand-meter summits. Kili Pemba Sherpa had completed the 14 Peaks. Sohail Sakhi was not merely a local fixer; he was a mathematician, an advocate, and a mentor shaping the next generation of Pakistani alpinists. Nadhira Al Harthy was a geology teacher who proved that a woman from a small Omani village could stand on the roof of the world. Mallory Geis closed her studio to chase a dream that ended on a mountain she had only just begun to know. Nima Sherpa gave his life doing the work he was born to do.
Nims Purja changed Himalayan mountaineering. In 2019, he climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in 189 days, shattering a record that had stood at seven years and ten months. In 2021, he made the first winter ascent of K2. He brought Nepal's climbing culture to a global audience in a way no one had before. Whatever controversies marked his career off the mountain, his impact on the sport is indelible. He died doing what he spent his life pursuing: pushing the boundaries of what was possible above 8,000 meters.
We also ask the industry to look inward. The 13-hour delay in raising the alarm, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., is not acceptable. If our communication protocols at Base Camp cannot trigger an immediate response, we must fix them before the next season. The lives of high-altitude workers and clients depend on it.
How to Help & Share Your Thoughts
We invite the Explorerelite.com community to leave tributes, well-wishes, and messages of solidarity for the families and loved ones of the Broad Peak team in the social media. If you have verified information about relief funds or support channels for the families of the Nepali and Pakistani high-altitude workers, please share those links as well.
The mountains give us purpose, community, and perspective. Today, they have taken from us. We stand with the families, the recovery teams, and every member of the global outdoor family mourning this loss.
This is a developing story. We will continue to update this article as verified information becomes available.
Reference Links & Sources
- National Geographic: How Nims Purja's Broad Peak climb ended in deadly disaster
- Outside Online: Search Parties Begin to Recover Bodies Following the Broad Peak Avalanche
- Outside Online: Nirmal "Nims" Purja Missing After an Avalanche in Pakistan
- AP News / Indian Express: Broad Peak avalanche: Rescue briefly paused after 3 bodies recovered
- Climbing Magazine: Who Are the 10 Climbers Caught in the Broad Peak Avalanche?
- ExplorersWeb: Broad Peak Avalanche: Two Bodies Found, Helicopters Search for Others
- PlanetMountain: Avalanche on Broad Peak: Nirmal Purja confirmed dead along with 9 other climbers
- Alpine Club of Pakistan: Official statements via ACP Instagram
