KATHMANDU: Adverse weather and erratic rainfall throughout the day hampered renowned climber Mingma G and his team from resuming the ground recovery mission for the bodies of three climbers, including Nirmal Purja, ‘Nimsdai’, on Broad Peak on Tuesday.

“We could not resume the ground recovery mission today as planned,” Mingma G told The Tourism Times.

Mingma G further stated that his team is waiting and would attempt to recover the bodies of the climbers once weather permits.

As the global mountaineering community awaits a chance to pay final tributes to legendary climbers including Nimsdai, friends and family have pinned their last-ditch hopes on Mingma G. Now, his team is the only one remaining on Broad Peak for the recovery mission.

“All others have already left, and my team is the only one here,” Mingma G earlier said, adding that he would try his best to honor the concerns of the world mountaineering fraternity by resuming ground recovery.

The three bodies - of Nimsdai, Nima Sherpa, and Chinese climber Wang Zhong - are stuck at 5,000m on the Concordia side of the mountain, after Mingma G’s team recovered four bodies from 5,700m on Sunday.

The bodies of Kili Pemba Sherpa ‘Kilu’ and Gyalu Sherpa are now on a flat area of the mountain, but three more bodies remain stuck on a risky slope at 5,000m.

Meanwhile, Mingma David, a member of parliament and co-owner of Elite Exped, shared that he had a constructive meeting with the President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan to discuss ways to further strengthen and streamline the ongoing recovery operation on Broad Peak, with the shared objective of making the process as safe, effective, and expeditious as possible. “The president is doing everything in his power to deliver this mission safely and successfully,” Mingma David, who is now in Islamabad, posted on social media.

“Given the extremely challenging terrain, unpredictable weather conditions, and other operational difficulties, we discussed strengthening coordination among all relevant authorities, recovery teams, technical resources, and available manpower to ensure a more efficient and well-coordinated response,” he added.

“The safety of the recovery teams remains our highest priority. At the same time, we are committed to taking every necessary step to facilitate the safe and dignified recovery of the remaining bodies at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Mingma David also appreciated the continued support, cooperation, and coordination of the Government of Pakistan, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the Embassy of Nepal in Pakistan, and everyone involved in this difficult recovery mission. “Our priority remains clear: to bring our friends home safely and with dignity.”

The Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement that it continues to monitor the ongoing recovery operation on Broad Peak in coordination with all relevant authorities and rescue teams.

“Due to low clouds and adverse weather conditions, helicopters were unable to reach the area today. Despite these challenges, the ground rescue teams from Pakistan and Nepal continued their recovery efforts, demonstrating exceptional determination and leadership under extremely demanding high-altitude conditions,” it said.

Wednesday morning, helicopters will once again attempt to reach the area to assist the ground teams in recovering the remaining bodies, subject to improved weather conditions, it said.

A massive avalanche killed 10 climbers just below Camp III on Wednesday morning as they attempted a summit push on the world’s 12th-highest mountain. This is one of the worst mountaineering disasters in the Karakoram region.