On July 30, Nirmal "Nims" Purja was climbing Pakistan's Broad Peak as part of an attempt to become the first person to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks twice without supplemental oxygen when a massive avalanche tore through the route between Camp 2 and Camp 3. The slide caught a group of climbers at around 6,580 metres, sweeping them down the mountain. Rescue teams from the Pakistan Army, local high-altitude climbers and fellow expeditions rushed into action, but poor weather, unstable snow and the altitude made the search painfully difficult. Within days, hopes of finding survivors had faded. Purja, along with the other climbers caught in the avalanche, was confirmed dead. He was 43.

It was a shocking end for someone who had built a career on surviving situations that most climbers spend their lives trying to avoid. Purja had rescued stranded climbers from the death zone on Everest, climbed peaks at a speed that rewrote mountaineering records, and repeatedly returned from expeditions that pushed the limits of what the human body could endure. For years, his public image was one of a daredevil — if something looked impossible, he would probably try it anyway.

Before the world knew him as one of mountaineering's biggest names, Purja grew up in Myagdi, a rural district in western Nepal. He came from a modest family with a strong military tradition. His father and brothers had all served as Gurkhas in the British Army, and joining them became his own ambition. Climbing mountains was never the plan. The mountains were simply part of the landscape he grew up around.

In 2003, he was recruited into the Brigade of Gurkhas, one of the British Army's most selective regiments. Six years later, he made history by becoming the first Gurkha to pass selection for the United Kingdom's elite Special Boat Service (SBS), a special forces unit whose operations remain largely classified. Purja has often said that the military shaped almost everything that came later. Years of operating in extreme conditions taught him discipline, endurance, and an ability to stay calm under relentless pressure. Those qualities would eventually define his climbing career as much as his physical strength.

Ironically, Purja came to professional mountaineering fairly late. He only began climbing seriously in his late twenties after a trip to Everest Base Camp sparked an obsession with high-altitude climbing. His rise was astonishingly quick. He summited Dhaulagiri in 2014, climbed Everest in 2016, and soon gained attention for taking part in difficult rescue missions at extreme altitude. In 2017, he led the G200E Gurkha Expedition, taking 13 Gurkha soldiers to the summit of Everest to mark 200 years of Gurkha service in the British Army. By then, it was clear that Purja wasn't interested in climbing at the pace the sport was generally used to.

This reached its peak in 2019 with Project Possible. At the time, climbing all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres usually took years, sometimes decades. Purja announced that he would do it in seven months. Many dismissed the idea, but he completed the challenge in 189 days, smashing the previous record and turning himself into an international name almost overnight. His expedition relied on logistics, helicopter transfers, and supplemental oxygen where permitted, choices that sparked debate within parts of the climbing community. But Purja never tried to hide his methods. He argued that the objective was to prove what was physically and logistically possible, and he had done exactly that.

In 2021, he led the all-Nepali team that completed the first winter ascent of K2, one of the last great milestones in high-altitude mountaineering. The climb became an emotional moment for Nepal's climbing community, whose guides and Sherpas had spent decades making other people's achievements possible while rarely receiving the same recognition themselves. Through his company, Elite Exped, his bestselling memoir 'Beyond Possible' and the Netflix documentary '14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible', Purja became the face of a new generation of Nepali climbers claiming ownership over stories that had long been told through somebody else's lens.

Following news of his death, tributes poured in from climbers, athletes, filmmakers and fans across the world. They remembered the rescues, the records, the impossible projects and the doors he opened for Nepali mountaineers on the global stage, which are, of course, an undeniable part of his legacy. What is left out of it, however, is one of the biggest reckonings of his career.

In May of 2024, The New York Times published an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against some of the biggest names in mountaineering, including Nirmal Purja. The investigation centred on allegations made by two women from within the climbing community: Lotta Hintsa, a Finnish mountaineer and former Miss Finland, and Dr. April Leonardo, an American physician and climber who had previously joined one of Purja's commercial expeditions as a client. Hintsa alleged that Purja sexually assaulted her during a meeting at a Kathmandu hotel in March 2023, after inviting her to discuss work opportunities. Leonardo alleged that during an Elite Exped climb of K2 in 2022, Purja repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances, including kissing and touching her without her consent. Both women said they decided to speak publicly because they believed women in expedition environments often struggle to report misconduct, particularly when it involves influential figures within the industry.

Purja denied the allegations through his lawyers, who said the encounters had been consensual and challenged several aspects of the investigation. Following the report, several major corporate sponsors and outdoor brands, such as Osprey, distanced themselves or cut ties with him, while others called for authorities to investigate. The dispute remained legally unresolved at the time of Purja's death. Even so, the investigation became one of the most significant moments in recent mountaineering, prompting broader discussions about power dynamics on commercial expeditions, the influence of elite guides and expedition leaders. 

Purja’s death, with its tragedy, has also brought up questions on how we remember our heroes. When someone achieves an extraordinary feat that means something to us — whether on a mountain, in sports, or in the arts —  there is a natural tendency to celebrate their achievements and protect their reputation, perhaps because it is a marker of our own admiration, our taste, and who we put our faith in. Yet, when questionable stories from their pasts emerge, fans often choose to overlook them to preserve that image of greatness. We betray our own politics when we do that. While our heroes may have deeply inspired and moved us, how we respond to the harm caused by them, and even believe that they are capable of it, is ultimately a reflection of our own values — something to keep in mind as we remember Purja's legacy.

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