Search teams in Pakistan have recovered the remains of 39-year-old American climber Mallory Geis, who was the final missing member of a 10-person international mountaineering expedition killed in an avalanche on Broad Peak weeks ago.
Local volunteers discovered Geis' remains on Friday, according to Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, and local authorities. The climb marked Geis' very first attempt to summit an 8,000-meter (26,247-foot) peak in the country.
Geis, a resident of San Antonio, Texas, had shared her excitement for the journey on social media earlier this year. She announced she was closing her Pilates studio to take "a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved." In a statement released earlier this month, her family remembered her as "a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends."
The discovery concludes a search operation that was launched on July 31, immediately after the expedition was swept away by a devastating avalanche on Broad Peak. The group was led by Nirmal Purja, a prominent Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai. Purja famously climbed all 14 of the world's highest peaks in a record-breaking 189 days in 2019, a feat documented in the Netflix film "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible," though his speed record was surpassed in 2023.
Mountain climbing in northern Pakistan is highly perilous, with accidents occurring frequently due to high altitudes, sudden weather shifts, avalanches, and falling rock or ice.
