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Know the brave team that recovered climbers’ bodies from Broad Peak avalanche
KATHMANDU: Here is a brief profile of renowned climbers who put their lives at risk while retrieving the bodies of climbers from the treacherous slopes of Broad Peak on August 5.
Mingma G (Team leader - Nepal)
Founder of Imagine Nepal Treks, Mingma G is the first Nepali climber to have scaled all 14 peaks above 8,000m without using supplementary oxygen. In 2024, he made history in mountain climbing as he scaled Shishapangma (8,027m) in Tibet, completing all 14 peaks without bottled oxygen.
Mingma G climbed Mt Dhaulagiri, Mt Kanchenjunga and Mt Everest in 2022 without supplementary oxygen. The IFMGA/UIAGM-certified guide scaled Manaslu in 2021, Gasherbrum-II in 2019, Lhotse and Broad Peak in 2018, K2, Makalu and Nanga Parbat in 2017, Gasherbrum-I in 2016, and Annapurna in 2015 – all without bottled oxygen.
Mingma G, who started his climbing career in 2006, has climbed Everest seven times (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2022 and 2026), K2 six times (2014, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025), Manaslu seven times, Kanchenjunga twice, Makalu twice, Broad Peak twice, Cho Oyu twice, Dhaulagiri twice, Annapurna twice, as well as Lhotse, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, and Shishapangma once. On 27 December 2024, he completed another challenge: the ‘Seven Summits’ (the highest peak on each of the seven continents).
Hailing from Rolwaling village, a climbers’ valley in Dolakha district, Mingma G is also the first summiteer on Mt Cheki-Go (6,257m), Mt Bamongo (6,400m) and Mt Chobuje (6,685m) via the west side.
Mingma G also holds the record for the most summits of Manaslu without oxygen. Out of his seven summits, he reached the fore‑summit four times and the main summit three times. His 2021 summit – while opening the route to the main summit – was with oxygen, whereas his other six ascents were without supplementary oxygen.
Mingma G's Nanga Parbat summit in 2017 was also the first autumn summit of that peak. He was one of 10 Nepalese climbers and the leader of his team for the first winter ascent of K2. In 2024, he also reached the South Pole on skis. Only a few Nepalese have made it to the South Pole, and he is one among them.
Dipan Gurung (Nepal)
Dipan is a passionate mountaineer himself, always keen to explore new peaks, routes and opportunities. Dipan is a young mountaineer with summits on multiple 8,000m peaks and impressive climbs throughout the Himalaya. As a lead climber with Imagine Nepal Treks, Dipan successfully scaled Mt Everest for the fifth time and Mt Lhotse twice. He has also scaled K2, Annapurna, Manaslu and many other mountains. Born in Bhotkhola-4, Sankhuwasabha, Dipan is an aspirant NNMGA guide.
Pemba Chhewang Sherpa (Nepal)
Born and raised in Tapting, a mountainous village of the Mt Everest region of Solu Dudhkunda in Solukhumbu district, Pemba Chhewang Sherpa is an elite high-altitude climbing guide and rope-fixing team member for Elite Exped. He notably helped open the 2026 Himalayan climbing season by reaching the summit of Annapurna I as part of the primary rope-fixing team. He has climbed Mt Everest, Lhotse and Manaslu among other peaks in Nepal.
Sirbaz Khan (Pakistan)
Sirbaz Khan is the first Pakistani to have completed all 14 eight-thousanders without the use of supplementary oxygen. He accomplished this feat in 2025 as he climbed Kanchenjunga as his last 8000er with the Mingma G-led Imagine Nepal Treks. Sirbaz hails from the Aliabad area of Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan and began his climbing career in 2016. In 2019, he became the first Pakistani to summit Mt Lhotse, the world's fourth-highest mountain at 8,516m in Nepal, without the use of supplementary oxygen.
Abid Baig (Pakistan)
An ultra-endurance cyclist with a national record for the fastest solo ride from Balochistan to Khunjerab Top (Pak-China Border) and an expedition enthusiast, Abidullah Baig from Hunza, Pakistan, successfully summited Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak, Tirich Mir and several other major peaks without supplementary oxygen. Beyond mountaineering, Abid is also an accomplished endurance cyclist. He has climbed many peaks with Sirbaz.
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