The news from Broad Peak has left the entire mountain-loving community stunned. Every ascent in the high mountains is built on courage and on respect for forces far bigger than any of us, and days like this one remind us just how precious every safe return truly is.
It is now confirmed. Everyone who was on Broad Peak on Thursday, July 30, swept away by the avalanche, is no longer with us. Ten lives. Ten climbers who set out that morning with the same hope every mountaineer carries: to go up, and to come back down.
We lost Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman. We lost Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan. We lost Wang Zhong of China. We lost Mallory Geis of the United States. And we lost six of our own Nepali climbers: Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta,” Kili Pemba Sherpa “Kilu,” Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, and Gyalu Sherpa.
Ten names. Ten families. Ten futures that ended on a mountain slope in a matter of moments. We wish, more than words can say, that this were not true. But it is, and the only honest thing left to do is to say their names, hold them close, and grieve alongside everyone who loved them.
A community that shares everything, even this
Our hearts are with everyone affected by what happened on Broad Peak. We are following the situation closely and we will stand with the families of the climbers and support workers who were lost — not just now, in the first shock of the news, but through the long road ahead, the one that comes after the headlines fade and the families are left to carry on.
It was only days ago that we were celebrating these same ten lives: their skill, their determination, their achievements on some of the hardest mountains on earth. Now we write their names again, in grief instead of celebration, wishing with everything in us that we could turn back the clock.
This is a moment none of us ever wanted to face.
Everyone who ventures into the high mountains accepts a risk that is impossible to fully explain to those who have never stood at that altitude. We know these places are bigger than us. We can prepare with everything we have, make every right decision, follow every protocol — and still, in the end, the mountain has the final say. That understanding does not make a loss like this any easier to carry. It never does.
Why this hits differently
The mountaineering community is unlike any other. Base camps and high-altitude routes create bonds that are unusually intense and deeply personal, forged in a matter of days between people who may have only crossed paths briefly. A shared meal at 5,000 metres, a rope shared on a difficult pitch, a few words of encouragement before a summit push — in these mountains, that is enough to make someone family.
That is why this loss lands the way it does, not only in Nepal but across the entire climbing world. In this last decade, few names have inspired mountaineers to dream bigger and push further than Nims Dai’s has — but he did not stand on these mountains alone, and he would be the first to say so. The Sherpa community and the Pakistani guides who worked alongside him have, for decades, kept countless climbers safe on these same peaks, often without the recognition their skill and courage deserve, and the climbers who died with him on Broad Peak belonged on that mountain in their own right, carrying their own records, their own years of hard-earned experience, their own reasons for being there. They shared the same passion that connects everyone who has ever felt the pull of the high places. They were our brothers and sisters, and we will carry all of them with us.
To the families who are waiting
Our thoughts are with every one of them: the parents, partners, children, and friends who are now waiting for answers, waiting for news, waiting for a chance to say goodbye properly. There are no words that make this easier, only the promise that they are not carrying this grief alone.
– SherpaLegend.com
Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families, friends, and loved ones of Nadhira Al Harthy, Sohail Sakhi, Wang Zhong, Mallory Geis, Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja, Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta,” Kili Pemba Sherpa “Kilu,” Nima Sherpa, Nawang Thindu Sherpa, and Gyalu Sherpa. May the departed souls rest in eternal peace, and may their families find the strength and courage to endure a grief that is, in truth, unimaginable.
Om Mani Padme Hum
Prayers and strength — to the families, to the rescue teams, to the entire mountaineering community mourning ten of its own.
