The famed Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja – who made history over the years by trekking some of the world’s highest peaks – has been confirmed dead after an avalanche struck an expedition in the Himalayas earlier this week.
Purja “tragically lost his life” following the landslide, according to a social media post on Saturday published by the Nimsdai Foundation, which he founded in 2022. “Today, we mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy including his trusted climbing partners and guides,” the Instagram post read.
“His legacy will live on in the countless lives he changed and the people he inspired to climb their own mountains,” the post added.
Forty-three-year-old Purja was among 10 mountaineers who went missing on Thursday after they were believed to have been on 8,047-meter-tall Broad Peak, in northern Pakistan, when a landslide hit around midday local time.
At least four people have been confirmed dead, including Purja, the Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, the Nepali climber Pur Bahadur Gurung “Yukta” and the US climber Sarah Mallory Geis.
