The charity founded by the late Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja 'Nimsdai' has launched a £65,000 appeal to support the families of the five Nepali guides who died alongside him in last week's catastrophic avalanche on Broad Peak.

The Nimsdai Foundation announced on Wednesday that it had established the Broad Peak Guides' Family Support Fund, saying that while it continues to grieve the loss of its founder, its thoughts remain with every family whose lives were shattered by the disaster on Pakistan's 8,047-metre peak.

Within two days of launching, the appeal had raised £31,791 towards its initial £65,000 target, reflecting an outpouring of support from the international climbing community.

The fund will provide financial assistance to the families of Pur Bahadur Gurung 'Yukta' and Nima Sherpa of Elite Exped, Gyalu Sherpa and Nawang Thindu Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks and Kili Pemba Sherpa 'Kilu' of Imagine Nepal. Donations will not be used to support the family of Purja, in accordance with the foundation's stated aim of assisting the other bereaved families.

"In the midst of our own profound grief following the loss of our founder, Nims Purja MBE, our thoughts remain with every family who has lost a loved one in the Broad Peak avalanche," the foundation said in a statement.

It said that behind every mountain guide was "a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a parent, a friend and the centre of someone's world", adding that Purja had always believed that the greatest achievements in mountaineering were measured not simply by summits reached but by lives changed.

The charity said the fund had been created under its humanitarian programme supporting people affected by natural disasters and major climbing incidents. Contributions will help families meet immediate financial needs, including children's education, household expenses, funeral costs and other urgent requirements.

"This fund is not about replacing what has been lost — nothing ever could," the foundation said. "It is about standing beside families during the darkest of times, helping ease immediate financial pressures and demonstrating that the global mountain community does not forget its own."

The appeal is also intended to serve as a lasting tribute to Purja, whose achievements transformed modern high-altitude mountaineering and inspired a generation of climbers.

"Today, we have the opportunity to honour that legacy in the most meaningful way possible, not by looking back, but by extending a helping hand to those who now face an uncertain future," the foundation said.

Donations to the Broad Peak Guides' Family Support Fund can be made through the GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-broad-peak-families-support-fund, where details of the fund's administration and eligibility are also available.

Similarly, the Juniper Fund, a non-profit that has long supported the families of Himalayan high-altitude workers, is bringing the six bereaved families into its assistance programme. The charity has pledged $4,000 a year to each family for five years — a total commitment of $120,000 — alongside vocational training, educational support and help establishing small businesses.

A GoFundMe appeal launched on Saturday has already raised more than $33,000 towards that goal.

Yukta, who worked on American skier Jim Morrison's ambitious attempt to ski Everest's forbidding Hornbein Couloir — the subject of the forthcoming National Geographic documentary Everest: The Other Side, due for worldwide release in October — is also being remembered by the film's production team, which has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support his family.