Nepal-born British mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, 43, died with nine other climbers after an avalanche struck the 8,047m Broad Peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on July 30, only nine days after he became the first person to scale Gasherbrum II (8,035 metres) without supplemental oxygen. Elite Exped, the agency Purja co-founded, confirmed Saturday afternoon that all 10 members of the international team had died and there were no survivors, though authorities had not recovered all the bodies. Victims of the Karakoram tragedy included six Nepalese and one climber each from Pakistan, Oman, US and China.
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Purja, who died five days after his 43rd birthday, had been attempting to become the first mountaineer to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen. The ascent of Gasherbrum II on July 21 marked his 57th ascent of an 8,000m peak and his 29th without bottled oxygen. He then made a last-minute decision to attempt nearby Broad Peak during the same PoK expedition.
Born in Myagdi district in 1983 and raised in Chitwan — in Nepal’s plains — Purja later became a British citizen. He spent 16 years in the British military, serving with Brigade of Gurkhas before becoming the first Gurkha to join Special Boat Service, Royal Navy’s special forces unit. Queen Elizabeth II appointed him MBE in 2018.
Purja began his climbing journey in 2012 with what was meant to be a trek to Everest Base Camp but pushed beyond the original plan and turned the hike into a summit attempt. The experience became an early lesson in ambition and endurance. He first summited Mount Everest in 2016 and returned to the summit five more times, the last ascent occurring earlier this year.
The climber, mourned by mountaineers across the world, entered history books in 2019 by climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000m in six months and six days, smashing a record that had stood at nearly eight years. His extraordinary life was immortalised by the Netflix documentary ‘14 Peaks’. Purja would later complete all 14 without supplemental oxygen and joined the all-Nepalese team that made K2’s first winter ascent in Jan 2021.
In a Facebook post days before his death, Purja wrote, “This was never the plan. Initially, the plan was to climb just G2,” adding that a successful Broad Peak ascent would leave only Cho Oyu in his record bid. He ended the post with a line that became poignant after the disaster: “Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted. Not one.”
Purja had launched ‘Hat-Trick Project’ last year with the extraordinary aim of climbing all 14 eight-thousanders and Seven Summits three times each.
The other Nepalese victims included Pur Bahadur Gurung, known as Yukta; Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa and Gyalu Sherpa. Omani climber Nadhira Ahmed Al Harthy, American Mallory Geis, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi and China’s Wang Zhong also died. Al Harthy was the first Omani woman to scale Everest, while Geis was attempting her first 8,000m peak in PoK. Sakhi, a geographer, guide and high-altitude photographer, was undertaking what was expected to be his final expedition.
Purja and his team’s geo trackers showed climbers losing hundreds of metres in altitude before their signals stopped around 9am on Thursday. His tracker later appeared to change location, briefly raising hopes that he might have survived. Search teams used drones to locate bodies as bad weather and avalanche danger hampered operations.
Paying tribute, Nepal PM Balendra Shah said, “The Himalayas grant the glory of the peak to many, and sometimes hold them forever in their embrace,” adding that Purja and the other climbers would remain immortal through their bravery and contribution.
Reinhold Messner, the legendary Italian alpinist widely regarded as one of the greatest high-altitude climbers in history, also paid tribute to Purja. Now 81, Messner, who was the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen and helped establish the minimalist alpine style in the Himalayas, said, “Nims chose his own path with courage and passion. What remains is not only the sorrow of his passing, but the memory of a life truly lived. My thoughts are with his family, his friends, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
------------------Nimsdai’s Record Trail-----------------------
Summited all 14 8-thousanders in 189 days in 2019
All 8-thousanders without supplemental oxygen in 2 years, 5 months in 2024
First to summit K2 in winter in Jan 2021
Everest, Lhotse, Makalu in 2 days, 30 minutes
57 successful 8-thousander ascents
29 8-thousander ascents without supplemental oxygen
First Gurkha to serve with UK’s Special Boat Service
MBE for services to high-altitude mountaineering in 2018
