Updated July 30, 2026 07:55PM

At about 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 30, a significant avalanche hit a group of 10 climbers on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. The expedition was led by renowned Nepali alpinist Nims Purja, who holds the speed record for climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks. Shortly afterward, the Alpine Club of Pakistan announced that the 10 missing climbers include Purja, four other Nepali guides, a Chinese climber, an Omani climber, one Pakistani guide leading an American climber, and one additional, non-Pakistani climber whose name and nationality has not been released.

The July 30 avalanche on Broad Peak likely occurred in the encircled area . (Photo: Samson Sharaf)

“The overhang where the accident took place is clearly visible,” says Samson Sharaf, a Pakistani mountaineer who shared several screenshots with Climbing. Sharaf is the mentor of Sohail Sakhi, the missing Pakistani guide. “Most probably the entire, snow-laden face moved, sweeping the entire traverse.”

According to the climbers’ GPS tracks, the avalanche occurred between 8:57 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at about 6,579 meters (21,580 feet), between Camp II and Camp III of the standard West Ridge. When the avalanche hit, American climber Mallory Geis’s tracker showed a sudden descent of 543 meters (1,784 feet). Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy’s tracker showed a much larger descent of 1,651 meters (5,417 feet).

The last known positions of Nims Purja, Mallory Geis, and Nadhira Al Harthy. (Photo: Samson Sharaf)

The Alpine Club has announced that search and rescue preparations are underway and will be deployed tomorrow morning. Until then, all climbers are feared dead given the size of the avalanche and the loss of communications.

As the world’s twelfth highest peak, Broad Peak (8,051m/26,414ft) is considered to be among the less technical of the world’s 14 highest peaks. The mountain’s local name is Falchan Kangri, which essentially means “broad peak” in the local Balti language. The current speed record is held by French alpinist Benjamin Védrines, who climbed from basecamp to the summit in seven hours and 28 minutes in 2022.

According to the Elite Exped description of its guided Broad Peak expeditions, climbers must spend 46 days in Pakistan. This includes rest days, trekking in, acclimatization hikes, and summiting. The outfitter ensures a one-to-one guide to client ratio, meaning that five of the climbers on the team were presumably guides. Most likely, the other four Nepali climbers on the expedition were working as guides. We have reached out to Elite Expeds for a full list of names of climbers—guides and clients alike—on the team, but have not yet received a response.

Here’s what we know about the 10 climbers impacted by the Broad Peak avalanche.

1. Nims Purja, Nepal, 42
On November 24, 2023, Purja received the ISPO Cup Award in Dusseldorf, Germany, for his climbing accomplishments and charity work through the Nimsdai Foundation. (Photo: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)

Nirmal “Nims” Purja is by far the most well-known climber feared dead on Broad Peak. He was also the leader of the 10-person expedition. Purja holds the speed record for completing the 14 Peaks Challenge—climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. He finished the project on October 29, 2019 after summiting each peak within a period of six months. His world record was the subject of a Netflix documentary called 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

Purja is also the co-founder of the Elite Exped guiding company and the founder of the Nimsdai Foundation. His foundation runs educational and environmental development programs across Nepal. In January 2021, Purja, alongside nine other Nepali alpinists, also made the first successful winter ascent of K2, the world’s second highest mountain.

Less than a week ago, he shared on Instagram that he had reached the top of Gasherbrum II once more—it was his self-proclaimed 57th summit of an 8,000m peak.

“The mountains never owe us anything,” he wrote in the caption. “Sometimes they welcome us; sometimes they don’t. This time, they granted us safe passage, and for that I am deeply thankful.”

After the release of the documentary, two women accused of Purja of sexual assault in a 2024 New York Times feature. A 2025 podcast series by reporter Poppy Damon has called into question some of those allegations.

2. Sohail Sakhi, Pakistan, 35

Originally from the alpine Hunza Valley in northeastern Pakistan, Sohail Sakhi is a high-altitude guide with experience across Pakistan. A mathematician by training, he earned his master’s degree from Quaid e Azam University in Islamabad, according to his mentor. In addition to his employment as a guide, he also worked as a mountain photographer and drone pilot. In 2025, he summited Nanga Parbat without the use of supplemental oxygen. He has also summited K2, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II, the latter two without supplemental oxygen.

Sakhi has acted as an advocate for reform and justice in the Pakistan mountain community. In an interview with ExplorersWeb last summer, he said that the Pakistani guide community had been “left behind” as Western and Nepali guides swept in and began guiding in the Karakoram. He also spoke out about pay inequity for Pakistani guides and workers.

3. Mallory Geis, San Antonio, Texas, U.S., 39

Mallory Geis, 39, is Sakhi’s American client. Based in San Antonio, Texas, Geis is a travel photographer and pilates studio owner who had previously summited Lobuche East (6,119m/20,075ft) and Mera Peak (6,476m/21,246ft), both in Nepal. Broad Peak was her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak.

According to her LinkedIn account, Geis studied communication at the University of Southern California and sports management at San Diego State University.

“I’ve never felt more at peace in another place,” she wrote about northern Pakistan in May 2025. “Ironic given the western narratives we are fed about that part of the world. Don’t listen to it. Go see for yourself. This gem of a country should be at the top of any adventurer’s destination list.”

4. Nadhira Al Harthy, Oman, 48

Nadihra Al Harthy is the first Omani woman to climb Everest, summiting on May 23, 2019. According to her own website, Al-Harthy grew up in a large family and didn’t discover mountaineering until later in life.

“I am still that small village girl who embraced her inner adventurous spirit and embarked on a remarkable journey of self-discovery,” she wrote.

She is also a geology teacher, serves as the general deputy director at the Oman Scouts and Guides Organization, and represents her country in the GLOBE Program, furthering environmental education and awareness. In addition to Everest, Al-Harthy has climbed Ama Dablam and Manaslu.

Three weeks ago, Al-Harthy posted on LinkedIn that she was in Pakistan, preparing to climb Broad Peak (8,051m) and Gasherbrum I (8,080m). Her greater goal was to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks. “Progress comes one step at a time,” she wrote.

5. Wang Zhong, China, age unknown

Wang Zhong is the presumed “Mr. Wang” named in the Alpine Club of Pakinstan’s press release. Zhong is a Chinese climber who reached his eleventh 8,000-meter peak on July 4, summiting Gasherbrum II alongside Purja. Broad Peak would have been his thirteenth 8,000-meter peak. The other mountain still on Zhong’s 14 Peak Project list was Shishapangma (8,027m/26,335ft) in Tibet.

6. One other foreign climber

The identity of the other international climber on the Broad Peak expedition has not yet been released.

7-10. The four Nepali climbers

In addition to the Purja, the avalanche impacted four other Nepali climbers, who are presumed to be guides on the July 2026 team. According to Nepal-based outfitter Seven Summits, the missing Nepali climbers include Gelu Sherpa and Nawang Thindu Sherpa. We will update this story with more details on each of these climbers soon.

Nepali climber Prakash Gurung was also part of Elite Exped’s guide team for the 2026 Pakistan season, which was set to include trips on Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak, and K2. However, we have not confirmed whether Gurung was on Broad Peak or struck by the avalanche.

Climbing has reached out to the Alpine Club of Pakistan and Elite Exped for comment, but has not yet received a response. 

This is a developing story and we will update it as new information becomes available.