A mountaineer friend of renowned Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, popularly known as Nimsdai, has vowed to bring back his body, which is still on Pakistan's Broad Peak.
Mingma G plans to launch a ground recovery mission to bring back the bodies of Nirmal Purja, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and Nima Sherpa, trapped at around 5,000 metres on the Concordia side of Broad Peak.
The mission comes a week after a deadly avalanche killed 10 mountaineers. It struck just below Camp III last week when climbers were making their summit push on Broad Peak, the world's 12th-highest mountain.
Speaking to The Tourism Times on Tuesday, Mingma G said: "I know the risks and challenges in the mountains, but I will try my best out of respect for my fellow legendary climbers."
Mingma G, the first Nepali to climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks without using supplemental oxygen, also shared an emotional tribute on Instagram. "My loving brothers Kilu, Wang and Nims. We will take you back home to see families," he wrote.
The recovery mission has been delayed because of bad weather in Pakistan's Karakoram region. Heavy rain, poor visibility and fresh avalanches have made rescue operations extremely dangerous.
"We could not resume the ground recovery mission today as planned," Mingma G said. His team is waiting for the weather to improve and will try to recover the bodies as soon as it is safe, he added.
Mingma G said his team is now the only rescue team still on Broad Peak trying to recover the remaining bodies.
"All others have already left, and my team is the only one here," he said, adding he would do his best to honour the concerns of the global mountaineering community by bringing the climbers home.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said helicopters could not reach the mountain on Tuesday due to poor weather conditions. The club said helicopters will make another attempt on Wednesday.
