Guillaume “Gee” Pierrel, a Chamonix-based French ski mountaineer, was killed June 24 by an avalanche in the Hushe Valley of the Ghanche District in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. He was 42.
Pierrel was part of a three-member international climbing expedition attempting to summit and ski one of the most technically demanding peaks in the region, the 23,891-foot K6.
Ishaq Ali, head of the Pakistani expedition operator North Pakistan Adventure, told the Dawn newspaper the avalanche occurred at about 16,400 feet on K6, while the team was ascending. There remain conflicting reports that the avalanche occurred on nearby Kapura Peak, a 21,469-foot mountain. Pierrel was climbing with French guide Boris Langenstein and Canadian skier Christina Lustenberger when a slide of mixed snow and rock swept over him. Pierrel was killed on the spot, while both teammates survived without injury.
Ali confirmed that Lustenberger and Langenstein contacted relatives through satellite communications to inform them they were unharmed. Meanwhile, porters brought Pierrel’s body to Camp 1, and a helicopter is slated to finish the recovery when weather permits.
Pierrel was an accomplished ski mountaineer and mountain guide, spending his life in the mountains from an early age. Growing up in France’s mountainous Vosges region, he began skiing at age 2, climbed his first peak in the Swiss Alps at age 4 and went on to be a highly successful Nordic ski racer and internationally certified mountain guide working in Chamonix. His tick list of mountain achievements is lengthy, including ultra-running races and first descents on several continents. In 2021, Pierrel skied Gasherbrum II, a 26,000-foot peak in the Himalaya. In 2025, he skied the Great Couloir on Canada’s Mount Robson with Lustenberger.
Pierrel’s passing marks an indescribable loss for the ski mountaineering community. In a tribute post on Instagram, Sherpa Cinema cinematographer and editor Phillip Forsey wrote, “Gee had a drive for life like nobody else I know, and brought his witty French humor with him (no matter how serious the situation) to remind everyone that this life is special, fun, and that it’s exciting to be living. His energy was truly contagious.” In his own tribute, big mountain skier and The North Face teammate Ian McIntosh wrote, “Your energy and light will live on in everyone who was lucky enough to have known you.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available about the accident.
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