Remains found of American mountain climber who died in an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak

ISLAMABAD – Search teams on Friday found the remains of American climber Mallory Geis, the last missing member of a 10-member international mountaineering team that was killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak weeks ago, a mountaineering official and local authorities said.

Geis’ remains were found by a team comprising of local volunteers, according to Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. The expedition was Geis’ first attempt to climb an 8,000-meter (26,247-foot) peak in Pakistan.

The recovery ended a search that began on July 31 after the expedition, led by renowned climber Nirmal Purja, was swept away by an avalanche on Broad Peak.

Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai, climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.

Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude and rapidly changing weather.