Unlocking the Mountain: How Rope Fixing Really Works

So we're recording now on August seventh in the evening, Pacific Time in California.

Uh, as you said, about eight days after the accident and, uh, since we last recorded.

The avalanche incident occurred on July thirtieth as a group of climbers was moving from camp two to camp three on Broad Peak, the twelfth tallest mountain in the world, located in Pakistan.

And, uh, you know, we've learned quite a bit about who those people are.

We've learned that no one survived the avalanche, and we know now that due to really epic efforts by teams who were-- a-a-- and climbers who were connected to those lost, that I believe seven of the ten bodies have now, uh, been brought off the mountain to, to go home.

Uh, three bodies do remain on the mountain because essentially this avalanche, and we'll talk just a little bit about it, but where it happened, it pushed people far off the climbing route, um, and some all the way down essentially to base camp altitude.

But some were deposited by the avalanche, um, in these really technical exposed areas, exposed to more avalanches and also quite, uh, difficult climbing.

So they didn't-- they weren't pushed down the climbing route.

They were pushed down the side of the mountain instead of following the ridge where the climbing happens.

And so getting, uh, the climbers' bodies off the mountain has been really difficult.

So three remain on the mountain.

I believe those are Sohail Saki, a Pakistani climber, uh, leader of a company named Mover-- Moving Mountains, a high altitude worker.

Mallory Weiss, an American climber, and, uh, Ngawang Sherpa, a Nepali.

I wouldn't be surprised if additional attempts, uh, to bring those bodies down occur or even in a future season, uh, as the season kind of closes in Pakistan here, uh, this year.

So perhaps, you know, just sharing a few more of the details that have come out.

The climbers were from four different companies, three Nepali companies and one Pakistani company.

Uh, Pakistani company, Moving Mountains, and the three Nepali companies were Elite Expeditions, Imagine Nepal, and Seven Summits Treks.

Three of the companies that have really been growing very quickly over the past decade have been leading this charge into, uh, I mean, multiple eight thousand meter peaks back to back, and also kind of leading this, uh, push for Nepali climbers to, to lead their own expeditions, guide their own expeditions, um, a-a-and offer all, all of the services they do.

All three companies have also, you know, really been in the forefront of Nepali climbers pushing the boundaries of, of what's, uh, what's possible, I'd say, especially in terms of, of multiple peaks, back-to-back peaks, and climbing all fourteen peaks, often with supplemental oxygen, occasionally without supplemental oxygen, of-- most of the time with clients, but occasionally, um, and more and more often, uh, for themselves.

So these companies have really been leaders in this kind of like new phase of both mountaineering and the commercialization of eight thousand meter peaks.

The climbers lost range from clients from China The United States and Oman, one each from each of those three countries, one Pakistani climber, and six Nepali climbers.

Uh, of course, we all know the, the climber who's received, you know, the people have heard the most about is Nirmal Purja, um, commonly known as Nims, who obviously through the Netflix documentary Fourteen Peaks, um, gained a lot of recognition.

He's been climbing and pushing really hard since.

And he was climbing with, uh, with actually a, a guide and high altitude worker that works-- has worked with Alpenglow expeditions as well as with elite expeditions.

That's, um, Yukda, and, uh, has certainly really affected many on our team, uh, and sort of climbed with us.