A San Antonio climber is among 10 international mountaineers missing after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in northern Pakistan. The expedition was being led by Nirmal Purja, the Nepal-born climber whose record-setting career became the subject of the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.”
The team lost communication after the avalanche, according to FOX5 Vegas. The reported expedition roster includes five Nepalese climbers, Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi of Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified as Wang and another foreign climber.
San Antonio climber was attempting her first 8,000-meter peak
Geis, 39, lives in San Antonio and had been preparing for what was described as her first attempt at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan. She had recently closed her Pilates studio and said she was taking “a giant leap of faith into the unknown,” according to the report.
The expedition was organized with Moving Mountains, a Pakistan-based travel company. The company describes Sakhi as a guide, geographer and high-altitude photographer who has climbed several major peaks, while the Broad Peak expedition was expected to be his final 8,000-meter climb, Moving Mountains says.
Purja became famous through a record-setting climbing push
Purja, also known as Nims Dai, climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in 189 days in 2019, a record at the time. His feat was later turned into a Netflix documentary that followed his attempt to summit all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters.
Broad Peak rises 8,047 meters, or 26,401 feet, in the Karakoram range and is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. The Associated Press reported that the Alpine Club of Pakistan received the initial avalanche reports and began coordinating with government officials on a search-and-rescue operation.
Rescue plans depend on weather and mountain conditions
The Alpine Club said helicopters and other rescue resources would be mobilized as quickly as possible, but any operation would depend on weather and operational conditions. As of the latest reports Friday, there had been no public confirmation of contact with the missing climbers or of a completed rescue, The Associated Press reported.
