Remembering Nirmal “Nims” Purja MBE (Nimsdai)

It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the death of Nirmal “Nims” Purja MBE — known to the world as Nimsdai.

On 30 July 2026, Nims was leading a 10-member international expedition on Broad Peak (8,047m) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range when a massive avalanche swept the team down the mountain’s west face. The group included five Nepali climbers, Pakistani guide Sohail Sakhi, Omani climber Nadhira Al-Harthy, American climber Mallory Geis, Chinese climber Wang Zhong, and others.

Elite Exped, the company Nims co-founded, has confirmed that he and several members of the team did not survive. Rescue and recovery efforts continue in difficult conditions.

From the Gurkhas to the Special Boat Service

Born in Dana, Myagdi District, Nepal, in 1983, Nims joined the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003 at the age of 18. He served six years with the Gurkhas before making history in 2009 as the first Gurkha ever accepted into the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy’s elite special forces unit, regarded alongside the SAS as one of the most selective and demanding formations in the British military.

He served a further ten years in the SBS as a cold-weather warfare specialist and subject-matter expert in the unit’s mountain cell, completing multiple operational tours. In 2018 he left the military to pursue mountaineering full-time, giving up a secure career and pension to chase a different kind of extreme challenge.

Mountaineering records that redefined the possible

In 2019, Nims completed Project Possible: summiting all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in just 6 months and 6 days — a feat that had previously taken climbers nearly eight years. The achievement was documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

Among his other landmark records:

First person to summit Everest, Lhotse and Makalu within 48 hours
Leader of the first winter ascent of K2 (January 2021) with an all-Nepali team and the only member to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen
Multiple speed records across the 8,000ers, both with and without oxygen
Eventually more than 50 successful ascents of 8,000-metre peaks, including dozens without supplemental oxygen

Beyond the numbers, Nims was known for leading from the front, conducting high-altitude rescues, and using his platform to support mountain communities through the Nimsdai Foundation.

A lasting legacy

Nims lived by a simple principle: the only competition that matters is the person you were yesterday. He combined the discipline of elite special forces service with an unshakeable belief that human potential is far greater than most people allow themselves to imagine.

Honour him by chasing those goals, especially the ones you think are too big to achieve.

Our thoughts are with his wife Suchi, his family, his former comrades in the Gurkhas and SBS, his teammates at Elite Exped, and the many climbers and communities he inspired.

Fair winds and following seas, Nims.

You showed the world what is possible.

Rest in peace.