A Texas woman who recently refocused her life on mountaineering has been identified as one of 11 climbers killed in an avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak. Authorities in the Gilgit-Baltistan region say 39-year-old Sarah Mallory Geis of San Antonio was among the dead recovered Friday, along with Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung and Omani mountaineer Nadhira Alharthy, per People. The fourth body hasn't yet been publicly identified.
The four were part of an international team attempting Broad Peak, the world's 12th-highest mountain, when an avalanche struck at about 21,850 feet on Thursday. In a February Instagram post announcing she was closing her Pilates studio, Geis wrote that she was taking "a giant leap of faith into the unknown" and expected her future to involve "lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons." "The impact she made in our community will never be forgotten," San Antonio Sports, a local group that once claimed Geis as a board member, said in a statement, per News 4 San Antonio.
Officials say the group last checked in with their tour operator on Thursday morning and went silent hours before the slide, per People. A rescue operation launched on Friday located the four bodies during an ascent from base camp; poor weather halted the search later Friday until Saturday morning.
As for the other climbers that had been reported still missing, including Nirmal "Nims" Purja, the former British soldier featured in the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, an early Saturday update brought some tragic news. "It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that ... Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak," Elite Exped, the company he founded, said in a statement, per the Guardian. "We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive."
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