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Illustrative A Pakistan Army helicopter flies over the site of an avalanche over Gayari camp, April 18, 2012 (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
(JTA) A prominent Jewish doctor in Boston died this week while attempting a challenging ascent in the mountains of Pakistan.
Alex Goldfarb, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, was an experienced climber as well as a beloved nephrologist who taught at Harvard Medical School, authored medical texts and traveled to New York last year to treat patients during the first wave of COVID-19 patients there.
His son told the Boston Globe that he also was “a devout Jew” who was animated by the value of
Sergi Mingote on Lhotse. Photo: Sergi Mingote.
As is often true in the mountains, triumph has walked hand in hand with tragedy this winter in the Karakorum. The first winter ascent of K2 (8,848 meters), undertaken by a fully Nepalese team (with co-leader Nirmal “Nims” Purja summiting without bottled oxygen), has captivated viewers around the globe. Sadly, just prior to the ascent, the Spaniard Sergi Mingote, Co-Leader of the Seven Summits Treks (SST) team on K2, perished after a long fall while descending to Advanced Base Camp from Camp 1 (6,050 meters).
The 49-year-old Mingote was attempting to summit K2 without bottled oxygen this winter, and had already tackled seven 8000ers without O2. He was in the process of attempting to summit all 14 8,000-meter peaks in the same style, all within a 1,000-day push, a potentially record-breaking project he called the “14X1000 Catalonia Project” (the endeavor was interrupted due to COVID-19).
Boston doctor who treated COVID patients in N.Y. dies climbing mountain in Pakistan
By Travis Andersen Globe Staff,Updated January 20, 2021, 3:30 p.m.
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Dr. Alex Goldfarb, center, pictured with sons Levi, left, and Ben, right.Handout
A prominent Boston doctor who was killed Jan. 16 in a mountain climbing accident in Pakistan had gone to New York to treat COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic and led a life that was âbeyond inspirational,â his son said Wednesday.
Alex Goldfarb, who was affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, went missing on Broad Peak in Pakistan, the 12th highest summit in the world. His body was found two days later close to the summit, according to the tour company that led a climbing expedition Dr. Goldfarb had joined.