How a sherpa rescued a climber on Mount Everest

Undoubtedly, Sherpas are the unsung heroes of Mount Everest. Back in 1953, Edmund Hillary could not have reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain without the help of Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. Today Sherpas continue to defy nature on this famous mountain.

Recently Gelje Sherpa carried out a heroic rescue when a Malaysian climber came close to death in Everest’s infamous “death zone”. According to the Himalayan Database, Everest has claimed more than 310 lives since 1924. The Malaysian climber looked likely to join this number when Gelje came across him, alone on the mountain and lacking equipment. 

Gelje was faced with a decision: continue guiding his client to the mountain’s summit, or abandon the journey and save the stranded climber. For Gelje, it was a no-brainer. The climber had to be saved. Gelje convinced his companion to abandon the summit attempt, strapped the climber to his back and carried him down 600 metres over the course of six hours. Later, he was joined by another guide, Nima Tashi Sherpa, who helped to carry the climber the rest of the way to base camp.

“It is almost impossible to rescue climbers at that altitude,” Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala told the Reuters news agency. “It is a very rare operation.” 

But Gelje defied the odds, and his heroic efforts paid off. The rescued climber, whose name was not released to the media, was flown home after his condition improved. Someone buy Gelje a drink!

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