Search teams in Pakistan found the remains of American climber Mallory Geis on Friday, ending a weeks-long recovery effort after an avalanche killed all ten members of an international mountaineering expedition on Broad Peak.
According to ABC News, Geis, 39, of San Antonio, Texas, was the last missing member of the group. Her remains were found by a team of local volunteers, according to Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
The expedition was led by Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai. Purja climbed the world's 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible." His record was broken in 2023.
The avalanche swept the team away on July 31. The search began that same day.
It was Geis's first attempt to climb an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan. Broad Peak rises 26,247 feet. Earlier this year, Geis announced on social media that 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."
Her family released a statement earlier this month describing her as "a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends."
Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan due to avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude, and rapidly changing weather conditions.
