One day after searchers on Makalu had called off their operation due to extreme weather that put them in danger, expedition outfitter Makalu Adventure has shared further details. The company has cleared up some sources of confusion and also revealed some inside information, rarely spoken of, about how rescue operations work.
In a press release today, Makalu Adventure’s Mohan Lamsal summarized the actions taken to recover the body of Phurba Ongel Sherpa, who fell to his death while descending from the summit on January 15. Rescuers were also trying to find the team’s only client on that summit push: Abofazl Gozali of Iran, who disappeared that day as he tried to make his way back to Camp 3 on his own.
Bad weather over the upcoming days has prompted them to call off the recovery operation. The second team on the mountain, an all-Sherpa expedition run by AltiPro Adventures, has also called off its climb.
Sanu Sherpa injured
There were two search-and-rescue attempts. Both failed due to bad weather. On the second one, with a helicopter and seven Sherpa guides on the ground, expedition leader Sanu Sherpa injured his leg and had to be helped down to Base Camp. Sanu was airlifted to the hospital today, along with the BC cook, Roshan Bhattarai, who reportedly felt “unwell.”
Gozali not insured
It turns out that the missing Iranian client, Abofazl Gozali, had no proper insurance coverage. When asked beforehand by Makalu Adventures about insurance, Gozali provided some documents but didn’t mention he had not renewed the policy that would have covered him while climbing an 8,000m peak.
The outfitter found this out the hard way when Gozali went missing. They had to call for extra Sherpa climbers, supplies, oxygen, and a helicopter. Lamsal told ExplorersWeb that he covered those expenses himself.
“I asked the Iranian Consul General for help, but they said they couldn’t do anything,” he noted.
In previous statements, Lamsal explained that communicating with Gozali’s family had been difficult due to the political unrest and communication restrictions in Iran.
Abofazl Gozali of Iran some days ago at Makalu’s Base Camp. Photo: Abofazl Gozali/Instagram
Nothing comes free
Lamsal says his team never stopped searching for the missing climber.
“I tried my best, launching not one but two attempts to find Gozali — one until Camp 3 and the second attempt on Wednesday-Thursday until Camp 4,” he explained.
It is also worth noting that local rescuers are not expected to help solely out of the goodness of their hearts. They are professionals and are usually paid for their work and the risks they are taking.
“In addition to my team, 8K Expeditions provided four Sherpas recommended by Sanu Sherpa [who also works with 8K], and I hired them on a paid basis,” Lamsal said.
This topic — of insurance and the need to pay local rescuers — is rarely discussed. Lamsal added that since he hired and paid for the extra Sherpas, they became the responsibility of Makalu Adventure, which automatically insured them. All workers in Nepal’s mountains must be insured by their employers.
The second team
Lamsal added that the AltiPro team was not part of the rescue team. They were on the mountain behind the Makalu Adventure team during the summit push, but retreated after the accident, he said.
However, AltiPro member Mingma Dorchi Sherpa, usually known as Saila Mingma, told ExplorersWeb that they participated in the second search this week:
AltiPro Adventures was not officially assigned or requested. My involvement was based purely on humanitarian grounds and family responsibility, not on contractual obligation.
Regarding the Iranian climber, no formal instruction was given to us to conduct a search. The only communication we received was informal — to remain alert in case we noticed anything while moving around.
However, the weather conditions [in the last two days] were extremely poor, with strong winds and low visibility, so…while searching for Phurba’s body, we were unable to see any sign of the Iranian climber.
AltiPro is a new expedition company, and its members — Lakpa G. Sherpa, Saila Mingma (Mingma Dorchi) Sherpa, Dawa Lama Sherpa, Mingma Jangbu Sherpa, and Pem Lakpa Sherpa — were trying to climb Makalu in winter to advertise their new venture. They are all experienced Sherpa guides, born in the Makalu region.
As noted above, they too have called their expedition off. “It is clear that there is no clear and safe weather window in the coming days,” they wrote on social media.
Mingma also noted that they need time to prepare for the upcoming spring season.
‘We never refused to help’
Mingma also wanted to make clear that, contrary to what 8K Expeditions alleged in a previous post, they never refused to help — they were simply further down the mountain when the accidents took place.
“The AltiPro team was already at Lower Base Camp before Sanu’s team arrived,” said Mingma. “No individual or company approached or contacted our team to request assistance. We only learned that a rescue team had been officially confirmed by 8K Expeditions two days after the accident.”
On the second rescue attempt, Mingma provided a detailed account and a video that clearly shows the conditions the search party had to deal with.
At the beginning of this week, the AltiPro team trekked toward Advanced Base Camp. Here, they encountered the 8K team, along with Sanu Sherpa and his men. One of the 8K team members had become injured and had to leave. Sanu and the others were waiting for better conditions to go up and search again for Gozali and to retrieve Phurba’s body.
“Sanu Sherpa came to our tent and asked whether we would be willing to help if additional support was needed,” Mingma of AltiPro said. “We immediately agreed and assured him of our support. Our original plan was a summit push, so as the other team was preparing for a second rescue attempt, we moved to Camp 2 and stayed there.
“But the weather deteriorated, and some of our members became unwell and descended for safety reasons. Two climbers continued their summit attempt, while I personally decided to fully join the rescue effort.”
Mingma added further:
That night, five of us proceeded toward the rescue route. Shortly after departure, one team member developed serious issues, and I made the decision to send him back immediately to avoid creating another emergency.
Four of us continued toward Camp 4 in extremely harsh conditions. Despite fear and uncertainty among the team due to wind and temperature, I felt it was my responsibility to attempt as much as possible.
We reached Camp 4 and searched the surrounding areas. The wind intensified even further. I proposed fixing ropes higher to expand the search area, but due to the rapidly worsening weather and safety risks, the team was not able to proceed. After careful discussion, we made the difficult but necessary decision to descend.
Mingma Dorchi has worked as a guide and rope fixer with many expeditions run by 8K and others. He has summited 21 8,000’ers and has climbed Everest twice in a season.
