Climber Nims Purja’s heartbreaking tribute for Anna Gutu who died alongside rival Gina Rzucidlo and their guides as they tried to break world record

Climber Nims Purja has paid heartfelt tribute to his friend Anna Gutu describing her as ‘one of the best mountain climbers’ after she died in an avalanche, adding: ‘Sorry I couldn’t save you.’

Record-breaking climber Purja wrote an Instagram post praising her life and their friendship after fellow celebrated climber, 32, died in Tibet at the weekend.

Gutu was killed along with her Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, and rival American climber Gina Rzucidlo, 45, and her guide Tenjen Sherpa.

The team was on the final stretch of a record attempt to reach the summit of the earth’s 14 highest mountains.

In his post, Purja said: ‘We were on the same mountain on the same summit push – I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. Thank you for being my sister, my friend. I will always remember you Anna, words cannot even describe how I feel. The phrase ‘miss you’ is not enough, now you are part of my life, you will live in my memories as long as I live,’ he added.

The tragedy unfolded on Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma – after two avalanches hit its slopes at an altitude of about 26,000 feet, Chinese media reported.

In a post about Mingmar, Purja wrote: ‘My dear brother, my source of strength, my family, my morale… you will be sadly missed.’

Gutu and her guide were initially reported missing – and on Sunday they were confirmed dead after their bodies were pulled from the snow.

Rzucidlo and Tenjen Sherpa, also disappeared in the snowflow – the cause of at least 120 deaths in the region in the past two years.

Rzucidlo’s sister, Christy, said in a Facebook post that Chinese officials had refused requests to conduct a helicopter search of the area. The communist government said the search would resume in the spring when the weather improves.

Both women were racing to become the first American women to traverse the true peaks of the world’s only eight thousanders – a range of mountains located in the Himalayas and neighboring Karakorams with 8,000-meter (26,000-foot) peaks.

All the peaks, including Shishapangma, are considered ‘death zones’ – meaning they boast heights above a certain point that cause a lack of oxygen insufficient to sustain human life.

That marker is widely believed to be around 8,000 meters – about the height where Gutu and Mingmar were when one of the avalanches was seen Saturday on Shishapangma, the world’s 14th highest mountain, at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet).

Their bodies were found by a mountaineering team on Sunday, according to the Himalayan Times.

The four were among a total of 52 climbers from countries including Britain, Romania and Pakistan pushing for the summit when the avalanches hit, and were practically there when the snow hit.

Nepalese mountain guide Karma Geljen Sherpa was also affected by the twin natural disasters, who was escorted down the mountain by rescuers and is now said to be in a stable condition.

Tenjen, meanwhile, was one half of a duo that smashed the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains this past July, with a time of 92 days.

The previous record was 189 days – more than double the time it took him and 37-year-old Norwegian climber Kristin Harila.

If he were 35 himself, a successful climb would have made him the youngest climber to scale all 14 peaks twice.

His partner, Rzucidlo, climbed with Seven Summit Tracks.

Harila, an accomplished climber with more than 160,000 followers on social media, confirmed on Saturday that she and members of her mountaineering team were on a plane to Nepal to help search for both climbers.

An accompanying statement from Harila’s team, citing The Himalayan Times report, insisted that her “thoughts and prayers are with (Tenjen) and his family.”

Gutu – another expert whose exploits have garnered her more than 33,000 fans on social media – climbed with Elite Exped, another respected climbing company founded in 2017 by world-class Nepali mountaineers.

The Ukrainian-born American’s friends and fans have since flocked to her sprawling social media accounts to pay their respects.

One tribute, left by famous Indian police officer Gurjot Singh Kaler, reads: Really miss you. Sad to learn about the avalanche. You were one of the best people I ever met.’

Another added: ‘We lost the most beautiful light today. The world will never be as bright without you. You are forever frozen in time as our beautiful mountain angel. I love you very much.’

Experts also warn that climate change has increased the risk of avalanches in the region, even during the somewhat blissful post-monsoon season, which the region is currently in the midst of.

Yet the mountain is known to claim lives all year round. The incident comes after at least 42 people died after a glacial lake burst its banks and caused floods in the region over the past week.

Officials are still assessing the extent of the crisis.