KATHMANDU: When a massive avalanche swept down Pakistan’s 8,051-metre Broad Peak on Thursday morning, it did more than claim six Nepali lives. It wiped out one of the most accomplished generations of high-altitude climbers the country has produced, taking with it decades of technical expertise, leadership and record-breaking achievement.
Among those killed was world-renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, widely known as Nimsdai, along with five elite Nepali mountain guides whose experience and skills helped shape modern Himalayan climbing.
According to Nepali expedition operators and mountaineering entrepreneurs, the country has rarely suffered such a concentrated loss of internationally recognised and highly accomplished climbers in a single mountain disaster.
The other Nepali climbers killed in the avalanche were Pur Bahadur Gurung, also known as Yukta; Kili Pemba Sherpa, known as Kilu; Nima Sherpa; Nawang Thendu Sherpa; and Gyaljen Sherpa, known as Gyalu. Most had completed dozens of successful ascents of Everest and other 8,000-metre peaks, with several earning global recognition for their achievements.
Gyalu Sherpa and Nawang Thendu Sherpa were associated with Seven Summit Treks. Pur Bahadur Gurung and Nima Sherpa were senior guides with Nimsdai’s Elite Exped, while Kili Pemba Sherpa was a lead guide with Imagine Nepal.
Gyalu Sherpa, a veteran climber from Okhaldhunga, began his commercial mountaineering career in 2015. Over the years, he built an impressive climbing résumé, summiting Lenin Peak, Mera Peak, Lobuche, Himlung Himal, Cholatse, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga and Everest.
Kanchenjunga held particular significance for him. Earlier this year, he completed another successful ascent of Everest after repeatedly summiting the world’s third-highest peak.
"Gyalu set a Guinness World Record by summiting Kanchenjunga three times in a single season, and he climbed Everest many times," said Chhang Dawa Sherpa, director of Seven Summit Treks, adding that Gyalu had worked with the company for nearly eight years.
Chhang Dawa said 29-year-old Nawang Thendu Sherpa, who was unmarried, had also begun his professional climbing career with Seven Summit Treks and had quickly established himself as a dependable high-altitude guide.
Among those killed, Kili Pemba Sherpa stood out as one of Nepal’s most accomplished mountaineers.
He was one of the 10 elite Nepali climbers led by Nimsdai who made history on Jan 16, 2021, by completing the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain and widely regarded as one of its most technically demanding peaks.
Only weeks before the Broad Peak tragedy, on July 3, Kili Pemba reached the summit of Pakistan’s 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat, completing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks. Less than a month after achieving that milestone, he was killed in the avalanche on Broad Peak.
The recovery of his body on Friday sent shockwaves through the Rolwaling Valley in Dolakha, where he was born, and across the international mountaineering community.
Born in 1980 into a modest family in Beding, Gaurishankar Rural Municipality-9, Kili Pemba began working on mountaineering expeditions at the age of 16, joining a Manaslu expedition in 1996 as a support worker.
Although his first attempt to reach the summit ended in failure, the experience strengthened his determination. After years of building technical expertise on smaller peaks, he successfully climbed Manaslu in 2002 and reached the summit of Everest for the first time the following year.
Kili Pemba’s contributions extended well beyond his own climbing record.
In 2021, alongside Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, known as Mingma G, he helped identify the true summit route on Manaslu, resolving a long-standing issue under which many climbers had stopped at a fore-summit instead of the mountain’s highest point. The route they identified has since become the accepted line for expeditions.
He also earned international fame for guiding climbers with disabilities on some of the world’s highest mountains. In 2018, he led Chinese double amputee Xia Boyu to the summit of Everest, and in 2021 guided Russian double amputee Rustam Nabiev to the top of Manaslu.
According to his uncle, Dawa Chirring Sherpa, Kili Pemba had successfully summited Everest 15 times during his career, earning a reputation as one of Nepal’s most skilled and dependable high-altitude guides.
Nima Sherpa, from Chyakse Boda in Makalu Rural Municipality-2 of Sankhuwasabha, was widely regarded as a disciplined, honest and fearless climber. Raised in a farming family, he built a reputation as a dependable high-altitude guide. Working with Elite Exped, Nima had successfully climbed four 8,000-metre peaks this year before joining the Broad Peak expedition.
Pur Bahadur Gurung, widely known as Yukta, had travelled to Pakistan three weeks earlier with the aim of climbing K2. That plan changed after one of his clients broke an arm, forcing the expedition to postpone its K2 attempt. He then joined Nimsdai’s Broad Peak team.
Yukta had already climbed 12 of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000 metres, leaving his ambition of completing all 14 unfinished.
Three years ago, after completing his seventh ascent of Everest in May, he spoke of his enduring passion for the mountains.
"The moment I head for the mountains, my spirit soars; standing on the summit fills me with pure energy," he said in an interview.
A native of Laprak in Dharche Rural Municipality-4, Gorkha, Yukta came from a village known for producing accomplished climbers. Six people from Laprak have set records on Everest. He also became the first climber from the Gurung community to summit Everest 10 times.
He first reached the world’s highest peak in 2011 at the age of 22 and completed his 10th ascent on May 20 this year. His climbing record also included successful ascents of Makalu, Annapurna, Lhotse and K2.
Confirmation that his body had been recovered alongside that of Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy plunged Laprak into mourning.
Nawang Thendu Sherpa was among the youngest guides killed in the avalanche. Though only 29 and unmarried, he had already compiled an impressive climbing record, having summited Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Ama Dablam.
He first climbed Everest in 2022 and reached the summit of Makalu earlier this year.
According to Ongdi Tshering Sherpa, chairman of Makalu Rural Municipality, Nawang came from a family deeply rooted in mountaineering. His father and three brothers are all veteran climbers who have summited 8,000-metre peaks.
"Nawang’s passing deprives our village of a courageous, honest and exceptionally promising young man," Ongdi said. "His contributions, discipline and dedication will be remembered by Nepal’s mountaineering fraternity for years to come."
Leaders in Nepal’s mountaineering industry said the deaths represent more than a personal tragedy, warning that the loss of such an experienced group of climbers will have lasting consequences for the country’s adventure tourism sector.
"An international-standard mountain guide cannot be produced overnight," said Chhang Dawa, director of Seven Summit Treks.
"It takes years of training, repeated expeditions and practical experience. Companies like ours recruit young men from remote Himalayan villages, train them over many seasons and help them become world-class professionals. Losing climbers of this calibre is a devastating blow, not only for Nepal but also for the global mountaineering community." - Kathmandu Post/ANN
