Family and friends are mourning Mallory Geis, a 39-year-old San Antonio woman who was among 10 climbers who died in an avalanche while hiking a mountain in Pakistan.
Geis’ social media posts, including her Instagram, show years of travel and outdoor adventure, including hiking to Mount Everest base camp, swinging through the jungle in Costa Rica and sightseeing in Jordan.
Her most recent trip, a hike up Broad Peak — the world’s 12th-tallest mountain — was her last.
Kaitlin Anthony, a close friend of Geis, said her adventurous spirit was only part of who she was.
“I think the thing that stands out the most is she is one of the kindest, kindest spirits,” Anthony said.
Anthony said the two were born about a month apart and were close from the start.
“I consider her to be more than just a friend. She is absolutely family and a sister to me on so many levels,” she said.
Geis attended St. Mary’s Hall, and Anthony went to Alamo Heights, but she said their friendship continued through different schools, college in different parts of the country and into their 20s and 30s. She described Geis as someone who never did anything halfway — from school and sports to opening her own Pilates studio.
“I never knew how she juggled everything, but she managed to with a lot of grace and humility,” Anthony said.
Anthony said she noticed Geis’ goals shift as she neared the end of her 30s.
“She sort of just made a decision that she wanted to start experiencing adventure,” she said.
Geis later closed her studio and began traveling and mountaineering, Anthony said.
“When you see that smile from ear to ear on top of whatever mountaintop or in whatever place she was in the world, you can tell the joy that she was experiencing, and that’s infectious,” she said.
Anthony said she does not want to focus on how Geis died, but said it comforts her to know her friend was doing something she loved.
“When you love someone to the capacity that we love Mallory, they never truly leave you because you keep their spirit alive by talking about them on a consistent basis,” Anthony said.
Geis was discovered Friday after the avalanche on Broad Peak in the Skardu District of Pakistan, the family confirmed in a statement shared with KSAT.
The family described her as “a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends” who “will be profoundly missed.”
They said they are grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received, and are asking for privacy to process the “unimaginable loss.”
Geis was among a group of climbers who went missing after the avalanche. All 10 were confirmed dead, climbing company Moving Mountains said Saturday.
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