On the morning of July 30, a massive avalanche tore across Pakistan’s Broad Peak, swallowing Nirmal Purja – best known for his 14‑peak climb – and teammate Kili Pemba Sherpa. Only drone footage and faint footprints offered any clue as to where they fell.
For Mingma G, the loss was personal. The veteran Sherpa had shared legends with Purja on K2 and had led a team up the same mountain on the day the avalanche struck. Never imagined he’d be retracing the same steep ridges, now in search of comrades’ bodies.
The rescue tested endurance and ingenuity. Helicopters were delayed by bad weather, so a drone was the first line of evidence. Mingma’s small crew waded through unstable slopes, braving slamming ice towers and additional snow slides. They hauled the bodies up the glacier, then down to Skardu’s distant helipads, where aircraft finally ferried the victims to Islamabad and onto Kathmandu.
Beyond the mountaineering world, families, friends and the Nepali community held vigils. But for Mingma, the rescue is a painful crossroads: “I’m not sure it helps me keep climbing or makes me stop,” he says. Still, he remains the central figure in ensuring his fallen friends go home.
