Biography
Nirmal Purja Biography | Age, Career, Wife, Net Worth & Death (2026)
Nirmal Purja MBE, widely known as “Nims Dai,” was a Nepali-British mountaineer and former UK Special Forces soldier who became internationally recognized for his extraordinary high-altitude climbing achievements. This Nirmal Purja biography explores his early life, military career, mountaineering achievements, personal life, controversies, net worth, and final expedition. In 2019, he completed Project Possible, climbing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in six months and six days. His journey from the British military to professional mountaineering became one of the most remarkable stories in modern Himalayan climbing.
Table of Contents
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| Full Name | Nirmal Purja | ||||||
| Date of Birth | July 25, 1983 | ||||||
| Birth Place | Dana, Myagdi District, Nepal | ||||||
| Father | Nanda Bahadur Purja | ||||||
| Spouse | Suchi Purja | ||||||
| Profession | Mountaineer and Former Special Forces Soldier | ||||||
| Age | 43 years old | ||||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lbs) | ||||||
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) | ||||||
| Nationality | British and Non-Resident Nepali | ||||||
| Net Worth | $1.5–$5 million (approx.) | ||||||
| Ethnicity | Magar (Nepali) | ||||||
| Date of Death | July 30, 2026 | ||||||
Nirmal Purja Biography and Early Life
Nirmal Purja was born on July 25, 1983, in Dana, a small village in Nepal’s Myagdi District. At age four, his family moved to the Chitwan District near Kathmandu. His father was a Gurkha soldier and his mother came from a farming background; because they belonged to different Nepalese castes, their marriage was frowned upon and the family was cut off financially and socially from relatives on both sides. Purja has said the family was “really poor” growing up.
He has three much older brothers, who also became Gurkha soldiers and funded his education at an English-speaking boarding school. He later attended Loughborough University in England, earning a postgraduate diploma in security management. He was raised Hindu and is of Magar ethnicity.
Source:Wikipedia
Nirmal Purja’s Physical Description
Nirmal Purja was known for his exceptional physical endurance, built through years of Special Forces training and high-altitude climbing. His exact height and weight are not widely published, though he was frequently described as having a strong, athletic build suited to extreme mountaineering.
Nirmal Purja’s Military Career
Purja joined the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003. In 2009, he was accepted into the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service (SBS), becoming the first Gurkha ever to join the elite unit, where he served as a cold-weather warfare specialist. He was once wounded by a sniper bullet that struck the stock of his rifle. In 2018, he turned down a surprise invitation to join the SAS and resigned from the SBS to focus full-time on mountaineering, giving up his army pension in the process.
How Did Nirmal Purja Start Mountaineering?
His first major climb was Lobuche East in 2012, with no prior mountaineering experience. He summited his first 8,000-metre peak, Dhaulagiri, in 2014, followed by Everest in 2016. In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him MBE for his work in high-altitude mountaineering.
What Was Project Possible?
In April 2019, he launched “Project Possible 14/7,” aiming to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks in seven months. He completed it in just six months and six days, smashing the previous record of nearly eight years. His 2019 speed record was later broken in 2023 by climber Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa, who completed the same challenge in 92 days.
In January 2021, Purja and nine other Nepali climbers completed the first-ever winter ascent of K2, with Purja being the only team member to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen.
His Project Possible journey was later turned into the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible” in 2021. In October 2024, he broke further records, becoming the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders both with and without supplemental oxygen, and completing the Seven Summits the same way. In 2025, he launched his “Hat-Trick Challenge,” aiming to complete the 14 Peaks and Seven Summits for a third time, self-funded with donations going to his Nimsdai Foundation. By July 2025, he had reached 50 successful 8,000-metre summits, a new record.
Source:Netflix
Nirmal Purja Controversy and Allegations
In May 2024, two women publicly accused Purja of sexual harassment and assault, as reported by The New York Times. Dr. April Leonardo, a family physician, alleged he repeatedly grabbed, kissed, and propositioned her during a 2022 K2 expedition. Mountaineer and former Miss Finland Lotta Hintsa alleged he sexually assaulted her in a hotel suite in Kathmandu in March 2023. Purja denied the allegations through his lawyer, calling them “false and defamatory,” and also denied them publicly on Instagram, calling the claims “heinous” and stating the NYT article left out key context.
In February 2025, a four-part podcast series called “Summit Justice” investigated the allegations, in which Purja spoke publicly about the claims for the first time. Separately, in 2025, Nepal’s Press Council blacklisted The Himalayan Times and withdrew its government-funded advertising after ruling that a series of articles about Purja and his companies had breached journalistic conduct standards; the publication disputed the ruling.
Social Media
The record-breaking mountaineer, Nirmal Purja, was active on Instagram under the username nimsdai, where he documented his expeditions and training. His combined audience across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok was estimated at more than 5.3 million followers.
What Was Nirmal Purja’s Net Worth?
Nirmal Purja’s exact net worth was not publicly verified. Online estimates varied, with potential income sources including expedition guiding, sponsorships, speaking engagements, publishing and documentary-related work. Because no authoritative financial disclosure establishes a definitive figure, estimates should be treated as approximate rather than confirmed.
How Did Nirmal Purja Die?
Nirmal Purja died on July 30, 2026, after an avalanche struck a 10-member expedition on Broad Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. He was leading the group at the time, reportedly as part of his ongoing Hat-Trick Challenge. His death, along with nine other climbers, was confirmed by his company, Elite Exped, on August 1, 2026. Tributes followed from Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah, UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting, and mountaineers around the world.
