Nirmal Purja and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, known across the climbing world as Nimsdai and Mingma G, spent years running rival premier expedition outfits in Kathmandu — Purja’s Elite Exped and Mingma G’s Imagine Nepal — while competing for clients and records on the world’s highest mountains. But a week after the July 30 avalanche on Broad Peak (8,047m) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir killed Purja and other climbers, Mingma fulfilled a vow he had taken as his team trekked to the site and brought back the body of the man who was once his fiercest professional rival, close friend and, on some of mountaineering’s most important days, his summit partner, Elite Exped confirmed that the bodies of Purja, Chinese climber Zhong Wang, Nepalese climber Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa, also known as Kilu, had been brought to base camp on Wednesday afternoon in an exceptionally difficult ground operation led by Mingma. The effort was supported by Pakistani climber Sirbaz Khan.A Pakistan Army helicopter scheduled to fly to the spot in the last few days was cancelled at the last moment due to deteriorating conditions, forcing Mingma’s team to trek on foot towards the dangerous slope where the bodies had remained. “Other rescue teams have returned due to the risk; only my team is left here now. But we have not given up trying, addressing the pain of the climbers’ families. If helicopter flights are not possible, we will collect the bodies by trekking,” Mingma had told TOI on Tuesday.Mingma’s decision to stay carried a weight beyond the recovery itself. On Jan 16, 2021, Purja, Mingma and eight other Nepalese climbers completed the first winter ascent of K2. They had started as members of three separate expedition groups, but combined for the final push, stopped just below the summit and stepped onto the top together while singing Nepal’s national anthem. Mingma later said Purja had suggested that all 10 summit together so no one would be called first or second.They set more records together on Oct 4, 2024, on Shishapangma in Tibet, where Purja and Mingma walked the final steps together and stood on the summit hand in hand. Both completed their no-oxygen rounds of the 14 eight-thousanders that day, though Mingma is credited as the first Nepalese to complete all 14 without bottled oxygen because his entire record was climbed in that style. Purja, who had climbed the 14 peaks in a record 189 days in 2019 using supplemental oxygen, later returned to complete his no-oxygen round.“This is not about rivalry,” Mingma had told TOI. “We shared high mountains, big moments and the same risks. Families are waiting. As climbers, we cannot just leave them there if there is still a chance to bring them back.” In a post on social media soon after the deaths were confirmed on Saturday, he shared a picture of himself with Purja and wrote, “My loving brothers Kilu, Wang and Nims, we will take you back home to see families.”Elite Exped said the mission was made possible by the courage, professionalism and commitment of the recovery team, which worked under dangerous conditions. “Bringing Nims home was never just about recovering a climber. It was about bringing home a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, and the heart of Elite Exped,” the company said, adding that the recovery would allow Purja, Wang, Nima and Kili to begin their final journey home to their families.Six of 10 complete bodies have now been brought to locations from where they can begin the journey home, including Omani climber Nadhira Al Harthy and Nepal’s Pur Bahadur Gurung, who were earlier airlifted to Skardu. Partial remains identified as American climber Mallory Geis’s have also been flown down, while three climbers are still missing on Broad Peak.
