KATHMANDU: A promising career in high-altitude mountaineering was cut short when Nawang Thindu Sherpa, a guide with Seven Summit Treks, was among the 10 climbers killed in the July 30 avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak (8,047m).

Born on November 29, 1997, in Makalu Rural Municipality-9 of Sankhuwasabha, Nawang was one of Nepal's rising generation of professional mountain guides. He was single and had been based in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu, while working with Seven Summit Treks.

Although only 28, Nawang had built an impressive climbing résumé in just a few years. He began his high-altitude career with a successful ascent of Island Peak in 2019 before progressing to the world's highest mountains. He reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2022 and later climbed Lhotse, Manaslu, Kangchenjunga and Makalu, while also guiding expeditions on Ama Dablam and other Himalayan peaks.

His final successful expedition came in spring 2026 when he summited Makalu (8,485m), only months before joining the Broad Peak expedition in Pakistan.

Paying tribute, Makalu Rural Municipality Chairman Wangdi Tshiring described Nawang's death as a major loss to both his community and Nepal's mountaineering fraternity.

"With Nawang's death, our rural municipality and the entire Nepali mountaineering sector have lost an indomitable and promising pillar. This country will always remember his sacrifice and contribution," Tshiring said.

Nawang was among the 10 members of an international expedition who lost their lives after a massive avalanche struck the route between Camp II and Camp III on Broad Peak, one of the deadliest mountaineering disasters of the 2026 climbing season.