From Historic Winter K2 To All 14 Eight-Thousanders: Remembering The Extraordinary Life Of Kili Pemba Sherpa

A Life Written Across The World’s Highest Mountains

Nepal is remembering veteran high-altitude guide Kili Pemba Sherpa, one of the country’s most accomplished mountaineers, following the deadly Broad Peak avalanche in Pakistan on July 30, 2026. Sherpa was part of the climbing team caught in the disaster while attempting the 8,000-metre mountain, only weeks after completing one of mountaineering’s greatest milestones: reaching Nanga Parbat on July 3 and completing all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders. His decades in the mountains were driven not only by personal achievement, but by a career spent guiding climbers through some of the most difficult environments on Earth.

The Summit That Completed All 14

On July 3, 2026, Kili Pemba reached the 8,125-metre summit of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan alongside fellow Nepali guide Lakpa Chhiri Sherpa and Chinese climber Wang Zhong. Imagine Nepal recorded their summit at 10:42 am Pakistan time, confirming that Nanga Parbat was Kili Pemba’s final remaining mountain among the world’s 14 peaks higher than 8,000 metres.

The achievement is especially important when documenting his career because older profiles listing him as having completed only 11, 12 or 13 eight-thousanders are now outdated. By July 2026, his record was complete.

Fifteen Times On Top Of Everest

According to Imagine Nepal, where he worked as a senior climbing guide, Kili Pemba had reached the summit of Mount Everest 15 times by 2026. His relationship with Everest stretched back more than two decades, beginning with an early summit in 2003 and developing into a career that placed him among Nepal’s highly experienced high-altitude guides.

Part Of The Team That Changed K2 History

Kili Pemba was also one of the 10 Nepali climbers who completed the first-ever winter ascent of K2 on January 16, 2021. K2 had remained the only 8,000-metre mountain never climbed during winter until the Nepali team joined forces and reached its 8,611-metre summit together.

The climbers stopped shortly below the summit so they could arrive together, turning the ascent into a powerful symbol of unity among Nepal’s climbing community. Kili Pemba would eventually summit K2 twice during his career.

Helping Xia Boyu Reach His Everest Dream

One of Kili Pemba’s most remarkable achievements was not a personal record at all. In 2018, he guided Chinese climber Xia Boyu, who had lost both legs, to the summit of Mount Everest.

It was Xia’s fifth Everest attempt, ending a journey that had lasted more than four decades. Reaching the summit required extraordinary preparation and trust between climber and guide, and Kili Pemba played a major role in helping Xia finally stand on the world’s highest point.

Another Extraordinary Climb On Manaslu

Three years later, Kili Pemba helped another double-leg amputee accomplish an exceptional mountaineering goal. In 2021, he accompanied Russian climber Rustam Nabiev to the summit of Manaslu, one of the world’s 14 eight-thousanders.

These climbs showed another side of Kili Pemba’s career. While summit statistics made him an elite mountaineer, his ability to help other climbers overcome enormous physical challenges demonstrated the experience, patience and responsibility required of an exceptional guide.

Helping Establish The Route To Manaslu’s True Summit

Kili Pemba also played a role in an important chapter of modern Himalayan climbing history. In 2021, he was part of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa’s team that established a route reaching Manaslu’s true highest point.

For years, many expeditions had stopped at lower points along Manaslu’s summit ridge and recorded them as successful summits. The route established by the team provided clearer access to the mountain’s actual highest point and helped change how future expeditions approached summit verification.

Dhaulagiri Before His Final Fourteen-Peak Milestone

Kili Pemba remained highly active throughout 2026. In April, he was among the Nepali guides who successfully reached the summit of Dhaulagiri (8,167m) with an Imagine Nepal expedition team, marking one of the first major 8,000-metre successes of Nepal’s spring climbing season.

Less than three months later, Nanga Parbat completed his collection of all 14 eight-thousanders.

More Than A List Of Summit Records

Kili Pemba Sherpa’s legacy cannot be understood simply by counting mountains. He completed all 14 eight-thousanders, climbed Everest 15 times, reached K2 twice, helped make the first winter ascent of K2, contributed to establishing the route to Manaslu’s true summit and guided climbers with severe physical disabilities to achievements once thought nearly impossible.

For much of his career, the clients he helped often received more international attention than the guide beside them. Yet behind many remarkable summit stories stood Kili Pemba: carrying responsibility through the death zone, fixing routes, making decisions and helping others return safely.

A Legacy That Reached Every Eight-Thousander

Only weeks separated Kili Pemba’s historic Nanga Parbat summit from the Broad Peak tragedy. His July 3 achievement meant that before his final expedition, he had already completed one of the rarest journeys in world mountaineering: standing on every one of the planet’s 14 mountains above 8,000 metres.

Nepal remembers him not only as a record-setting climber, but as a guide whose courage and expertise helped write several important chapters of Himalayan history.

His name will remain connected to Everest, winter K2, Manaslu, Nanga Parbat and all 14 of the world’s highest mountains, a legacy built across decades above the clouds.