On a Thursday in the high Karakoram, the mountain spoke in the language it has always spoken — sudden, indifferent, and total. An avalanche on Broad Peak silenced a ten-person expedition led by Nirmal Purja, the Nepali mountaineer whose record-breaking ascents of all 14 eight-thousanders had made him a symbol of human audacity at altitude. The Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed the loss of communication, and the world now waits in the particular helplessness that only the high peaks can impose — where rescue is not a matter of will, but of weather.
Renowned Nepali climber 'Nimsdai' among 10 missing after Broadpeak avalanche
Ten climbers are missing and presumed at risk following an avalanche on Broad Peak; their current status and survival remain unknown.