On August 21, local volunteers found the body of U.S. climber Sarah Mallory Geis on Broad Peak. Geis was one of ten climbers killed by a deadly avalanche that struck the mountain on July 30. She was the last missing victim to be located.
Ayaz Shigri, the General Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, confirmed identification of the body. Shigri explained that volunteers will move the body to Base Camp. From there, helicopters will transport it to Skardu, according to Dawn.
Geis, 39, from San Antonio, Texas, was attempting her first 8,000m peak. Before the trip, she had summited 6,119m Lobuche East and 6,476m Mera Peak in Nepal. She had also completed ice-climbing training in the United States earlier this year. She closed her pilates studio to devote herself fully to mountaineering.
Nawang Thindu Sherpa. Photo: Social media
One body remains on Broad Peak. Search teams have located Nepali Nawang Thindu Sherpa’s body but have left it on the mountain because of the extreme danger of the terrain where it is located. Eight other climbers’ remains have already been recovered.
Pakistani climber dies on Spantik
In a separate tragedy on August 20, UK-based Pakistani Asma Mushtaq died while descending 7,027m Spantik after a successful summit.
Her guiding agency, Karakoram Calling, said she suffered a severe high-altitude medical emergency at around 6,400m. Guides could not save her.
Asma Mushtaq. Photo: Everest Today
A recovery team has deployed to retrieve her body, and her family has reached Skardu.
Mushtaq was an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who documented her travels online. Before the Spantik expedition, she had completed a winter ascent of Musa ka Musallah (4,076m), and participated in trips to the Rupal and Arandu areas.
Spantik is known as the Golden Peak because of the sunset light on its slopes. Photo: Shutterstock
