An avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak has left at least four climbers dead and six others missing from a 10-person international expedition, and bad weather is slowing the desperate search for survivors.
Pakistani rescue teams located four bodies on the mountain Friday after an avalanche struck the expedition during a summit attempt on Broad Peak, the world's 12th-highest peak at 8,047 meters in the Karakoram range. The expedition was led by Nirmal Purja, the renowned British-Nepali mountaineer known as "Nims Dai," who gained worldwide fame after climbing all 14 of the world's peaks above 8,000 meters in a record 189 days in 2019. That feat was chronicled in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible."
Three of the four recovered victims have been identified: Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani climber Nathira Ahmed, and 39-year-old American climber Mallory Geis of San Antonio, Texas, AP News reported. Six members of the expedition remain unaccounted for, and the search paused Friday evening before resuming Saturday.
Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told the Associated Press that the climbers lost contact with base camp after the avalanche struck Thursday. Pakistani army helicopters joined the search-and-rescue operation, but adverse weather conditions grounded flights and limited what rescuers could accomplish.
"The team has been out of communication since Thursday."
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain issued a statement Friday confirming that bad weather continued to hamper the effort. Senior government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the four bodies had been located and that retrieval efforts were underway. They did not immediately release the identities of all four.
The 10-person expedition included five Nepali climbers, one Pakistani, one Omani, one American, one Chinese climber identified only by the surname Wang, and one additional foreign climber whose nationality was not disclosed. China's Foreign Ministry said Friday it was working to verify whether any of its nationals were among the missing.
Spokesperson Mao Ning addressed the situation from Beijing:
"We will provide assistance to Chinese citizens in need and are also willing to offer help in accordance with the needs of the Pakistani side."
Napier Sandford Fuller, an experienced mountaineer who climbed Broad Peak just the week before the avalanche, told the New York Post that heavy rainfall had created a massive snow load on the mountain, conditions he recognized as a serious hazard. The avalanche struck the team around midday Thursday at roughly 26,400 feet.
"I remember thinking, sh--, they're going to have a h*** of a problem because if it's raining... for a week straight, it's going to have a huge snow load on that mountain."
Fuller also spoke about Geis, calling her "a Texan, a real nice young lady" on her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak.
Geis, a travel photographer who had operated a Pilates studio in San Antonio, announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her business to pursue climbing full-time. Her words carried a mix of excitement and awareness of the risk ahead:
"A giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved."
Purja, 43, is a former soldier in the British army who became one of the most recognized figures in high-altitude mountaineering. His 2019 speed record across all 14 eight-thousanders, peaks above 8,000 meters, stood until 2023, when another climber surpassed it. Before the avalanche, Purja posted on social media platform X asking for "safe passage up and back down," Breitbart reported.
"Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down."
Among those on the expedition was Sohail Sakhi, a Pakistani mountaineer, geographer, and high-altitude photographer who served as a guide for Moving Mountains, a Pakistan-based travel company. The company announced late last month that the team was on its way to the small town of Askole to begin the climb. For Geis, it was her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan. For Sakhi, it was expected to be his last.
The Karakoram range, where Broad Peak sits, contains five of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, including K2, the world's second-highest mountain at 8,611 meters. The region draws elite climbers from around the world every summer, and the risks are well understood. Avalanches, altitude sickness, and sudden weather shifts claim lives every season.
As of Friday evening, the identities of all four recovered bodies had not been fully confirmed through official channels. The search for the remaining six was set to resume Saturday, though weather conditions remained unpredictable. Authorities have not disclosed at what precise elevation or location on the mountain the avalanche struck, nor have they indicated whether any of the six still missing might have survived.
The expedition's composition, climbers from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, the United States, China, and at least one other country, underscores the international scope of the disaster. Families across multiple continents are waiting for answers, and the window for finding anyone alive at that altitude narrows with every passing hour.
Mountains at 26,000 feet do not negotiate. The people who climb them know that, and so do the families who watch them go.
