Nirmal "Nims" Purja, pendaki asal Nepal pemegang rekor dunia pendakian tercepat seluruh 14 puncak di atas 8.000 meter, dinyatakan meninggal dunia menyusul longsoran salju yang menerjang rombongan ekspedisinya di Broad Peak, Pakistan. Kabar duka itu dikonfirmasi langsung oleh Elite Exped — perusahaan ekspedisi yang didirikan dan dipimpin Purja sendiri — lewat pernyataan resmi pada 1 Agustus 2026.

Nirmal "Nims" Purja, the Nepali climber who held the world speed record for summiting all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, has been declared dead following an avalanche that struck his expedition party on Broad Peak, Pakistan. The news was confirmed directly by Elite Exped — the expedition company Purja himself founded and led — in an official statement on August 1, 2026.

Longsoran terjadi pada 30 Juli 2026 sekitar pukul 09.00 waktu setempat, menyapu sepuluh pendaki dari koridor antara Camp 2 dan Camp 3 di jalur barat Broad Peak (8.047 mdpl). Tim SAR gabungan yang dikoordinasikan Alpine Club of Pakistan sebelumnya telah menemukan jenazah tiga anggota rombongan — pemandu asal Nepal Pur Bahadur Gurung "Yukta", pendaki asal Oman Nadhira Al Harthy, dan pendaki asal Amerika Serikat Mallory Geis — sebelum Elite Exped akhirnya memastikan Purja turut menjadi korban. Dalam pernyataan yang sama, Elite Exped menyebut sejumlah anggota lain dalam rombongan juga dinyatakan tidak selamat, tanpa merinci jumlah pastinya, sementara operasi pencarian terhadap anggota yang belum ditemukan dilaporkan masih berlangsung.

The avalanche struck on July 30, 2026, at around 9 a.m. local time, sweeping ten climbers from the corridor between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on Broad Peak's west route (8,047 m). A joint search and rescue team coordinated by the Alpine Club of Pakistan had earlier recovered the bodies of three expedition members — Nepali guide Pur Bahadur Gurung "Yukta", Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy, and American climber Mallory Geis — before Elite Exped confirmed that Purja was also among the victims. In the same statement, Elite Exped said several other members of the party had also been declared not to have survived, without specifying an exact number, while the search for those still unaccounted for was reported to be ongoing.

Purja meninggal di usia 43 tahun. Ia lahir di Chitwan, Nepal, dari keluarga sederhana. Sebelum dikenal sebagai pendaki, ia meniti karier militer di Brigade Gurkha Angkatan Darat Inggris, lalu menjadi warga Nepal pertama yang menembus Special Boat Service — unit pasukan khusus elite Angkatan Laut Inggris. Dalam ekspedisi terakhirnya, Purja memimpin timnya sendiri, Elite Exped, untuk mendaki Gasherbrum II (8.035 mdpl) sebagai bagian dari "Hat-Trick Project" — upayanya mendaki tiga kali seluruh 14 puncak di atas 8.000 meter beserta tiga kali Tujuh Puncak dunia.

Purja died at the age of 43. He was born in Chitwan, Nepal, to a modest family. Before becoming known as a climber, he built a military career with the British Army's Gurkha Brigade, later becoming the first Nepali national to pass selection for the Special Boat Service — an elite special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. In what became his final expedition, Purja was leading his own company, Elite Exped, on an ascent of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m) as part of his "Hat-Trick Project" — an attempt to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters three times over, along with the Seven Summits three times over.

Nama Purja mendunia lewat "Project Possible" pada 2019 — target menuntaskan pendakian seluruh 14 puncak di atas 8.000 meter, termasuk Everest, K2, dan Annapurna, dalam waktu tujuh bulan. Sebelum itu, rekor tercepat dipegang seorang pendaki asal Korea Selatan dengan capaian sekitar tujuh tahun delapan bulan. Purja menuntaskan proyeknya dalam enam bulan enam hari, memangkas rekor lama lebih dari tujuh kali lipat. Proyek itu sempat berjalan dengan pendanaan yang morat-marit; Purja bahkan menggadaikan rumahnya sendiri untuk membiayai tahap awal, sebelum akhirnya mendapat dukungan setelah pencapaiannya mulai diakui dunia.

Purja's name became known worldwide through "Project Possible" in 2019 — a bid to complete all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, including Everest, K2, and Annapurna, within seven months. Before that, the fastest record belonged to a South Korean climber, at roughly seven years and eight months. Purja completed his project in six months and six days, cutting the previous record by more than sevenfold. The project ran on shaky funding in its early stages; Purja even mortgaged his own house to finance the initial phase, before support followed once his achievement began drawing global recognition.

Pencapaian itu kemudian diabadikan dalam dokumenter Netflix "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" (2021), yang memperkenalkan sosok Purja ke khalayak lebih luas. Sejumlah media internasional menyebut kepergiannya sebagai kehilangan besar bagi dunia pendakian, mengingat perjalanannya dari desa kecil di Nepal, tanpa privilese finansial atau jaringan besar dunia pendakian, hingga memecahkan rekor global yang sebelumnya dianggap mustahil.

The feat was later documented in the Netflix film "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible" (2021), which introduced Purja to a wider audience. Several international outlets described his death as a major loss for the climbing world, citing his path from a small village in Nepal, without financial privilege or major connections in the mountaineering world, to a global record once considered unattainable.

Dalam dunia pendakian gunung tinggi, dikenal pembedaan antara bahaya subjektif — risiko yang bisa dikelola lewat keterampilan, pengalaman, dan keputusan pendaki sendiri — dan bahaya objektif, yakni ancaman dari alam seperti longsoran salju, yang sepenuhnya berada di luar kendali manusia. Purja dikenal luas sebagai salah satu pendaki paling piawai mengelola risiko jenis pertama sepanjang kariernya. Namun tragedi di Broad Peak menunjukkan bahwa bahaya objektif dari alam tidak mengenal rekor maupun jam terbang, sehebat apa pun seorang pendaki.

In high-altitude mountaineering, a distinction is drawn between subjective danger — risk that can be managed through a climber's skill, experience, and decisions — and objective danger, threats from nature itself, such as avalanches, that lie entirely beyond human control. Purja was widely regarded as one of the most skilled climbers at managing the first kind of risk throughout his career. Yet the tragedy on Broad Peak showed that nature's objective danger recognizes no record and no experience, however accomplished a climber may be.

FMI turut berduka atas kabar meninggalnya Nirmal Purja dan anggota ekspedisi lain yang menjadi korban, serta menyampaikan belasungkawa mendalam bagi keluarga yang ditinggalkan.

FMI extends its condolences over the deaths of Nirmal Purja and the other expedition members who lost their lives, and offers its deepest sympathies to the families they leave behind.