India, Aug. 1 -- Nepali by birth, British by nationality, a soldier by training, and a mountaineer of global fame. But, among all his identities, mountaineer Nirmal Purja was most proud of his ancestral heritage that was a common thread in all of it - that he was a Gurkha.

He died in an avalanche in Pakistan as he was on his latest expedition, a climb to Broad Peak in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas.

"Being a Gurkha was my only dream. It was the only thing I wanted to do," he wrote in his book. Gurkha is a name used for certain hill communities in Nepal and India, historically designated as a "martial race", famed for fierce loyalty and unmatched bravery.

Nirmal Purja, 43, was 'Nims Dai' (his nickname followed by Nepali for 'older...