Loved ones in San Antonio are mourning 39-year-old Mallory Geis, who was killed in an avalanche while climbing Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains.
Geis, of San Antonio, was part of a 10-person expedition on Broad Peak, the 12th-highest mountain in the world at more than 26,000 feet in Pakistan’s Karakorum Range. The group had reached a height of about 21,000 feet when the avalanche struck. Search crews recovered four bodies, including Geis’.
The expedition was being led by renowned Nepali climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja, considered one of the best high-altitude climbers in the world. He was among those still unaccounted for.
Geis had recently set off for what she described as a new chapter in her life after closing the doors to her Pilates studio in San Antonio a few months ago. Earlier this year, she shared that she was closing her studio to pursue her dream of high-altitude mountaineering, saying she believed her future would involve “lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons.”
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Geis also was a former board member for San Antonio Sports, the local group that helps attract major sports events to San Antonio. In a statement, the organization praised her “bold spirit” and “generosity” and said, “The impact she made in our community will never be forgotten.”
Pakistani adventure company Moving Mountains announced last month that the team was heading to a remote village to begin its climb of Broad Peak. The company said the expedition marked Geis’ first attempt at climbing one of Pakistan’s 8,000-meter peaks.
The region draws experienced mountaineers from around the world but is also known for deadly avalanches, rapidly changing weather and other high-altitude hazards.