General Mountaineering Thread

[ghazi52]

Purja served in the British military for 16 years, 10 of which were spent in the special forces, and he was awarded an MBE by the late Queen in 2018 for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.

Purja, who lived with his wife and three-year-old daughter in Hampshire in southern England, said he was also the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military.

In his last post on X, published on Monday, he said he had not intended to climb Broad Peak.

"Initially, the plan was to climb just G2," Purja wrote, referring to Gasherbrum II, another peak in the Karakoram mountain range.

But right before he set off for Pakistan, he realised that if he also managed to climb Broad Peak while he was there, he would have only one more mountain to conquer before becoming the "first person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice. Without oxygen."

An eight-thousander is a mountain that rises more than 8,000m above sea level.

"This wasn't planned," Purja wrote. "But opportunities don't scream: they whisper to those already working in silence."

 

[ghazi52]

Broad Peak is regarded as one of the more challenging mountains for climbers. The first successful ascent was in 1957, when an Austrian expedition reached the summit.

Since then, many more have climbed the mountain, but dozens have lost their lives.

One of Broad Peak's deadliest years was 2013, when at least six fatalities were recorded.

 

[ghazi52]

The search operation continues for members of the international mountaineering team following an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan's Karakoram mountain range.

During the rescue and search operation, the bodies of 4 out of the 10 missing mountaineers have been recovered.

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