Acclaimed British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, a trailblazer who summited the world’s tallest mountains, has been confirmed dead in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, his climbing company said.
Purja, 43, served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and then the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines before becoming a full-time mountaineer and guide.
He famously completed the summit of the 14 highest peaks in the world in just over six months in 2019, shattering the previous record of seven years.
“It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” Purja’s company Elite Expeditions said in a social media post.
“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”
The determined climber had the 14 mountains tattooed across his back, complete with swirling clouds and Tibetan prayer flags.
His efforts were chronicled in a 2021 Netflix documentary, inspiring a new wave of climbers.
However, Purja had also faced criticism for his use of guides, oxygen and fixed ropes, as well as helicopters to go from one base camp to another.
Purja made history in 2021 with the first winter ascent of the treacherous K2, the world’s second-highest peak, along with a team of nine other Nepali climbers.
He wrote on X this week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without oxygen.
“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.
“My purpose has never been about me. It’s about what I represent. It’s about showing YOU that your own mountains – whatever they are – are climbable.”
Broad Peak, part of the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000m-plus ascents.
Known by the nickname “Nimsdai”, his love of mountaineering began on a trek to an Everest base camp in 2012 when he summited the 6,119m Lobuche.
He climbed his first “8,000er” in 2014. Two years later, when a period of leave following a deployment to Afghanistan coincided with climbing season, he made his first ascent of Everest.
Later, he swapped his army boots for crampons, quitting the military after 16 years of service.
“As a Nepali, I hope my climbs put a spotlight on the talented climbers here,” he said. — AFP
