Kathmandu, Aug. 1 -- What started as a focused mission for Gasherbrum II (G2) quickly shifted when "Nimsdai" crunched the numbers before heading to Pakistan.

Summiting Broad Peak would leave only Cho Oyu remaining, positioning him to become the first person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice without supplemental oxygen.

In his July 27 post on X, Purja noted, "Opportunities don't scream: they whisper to those already working in silence." However, climbing the Broad Peak "was never the plan" for British-Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja.

"THE MISSION SHIFTS. THE COMPASS HOLDS. This was never the plan. Initially, the plan was to climb just G2. But just before setting off for Pakistan, I ran the numbers on my 8000m summits....