Gelje Sherpa Carries Everest Climber

In 2023, Nepali mountain guide Gelje Sherpa was leading a Chinese client toward Mount Everest's summit in the Himalayas when he found a Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering in the death zone. Gelje persuaded his client to abandon the summit attempt, wrapped the climber in a sleeping mat, and carried or dragged him 600 meters from the Balcony to the South Col over approximately six hours. Nepali guide Nima Tashi Sherpa then joined Gelje, and the pair alternated between dragging the man and carrying him on their backs until they reached Camp III. A helicopter used a long line to lift the climber from the 7,162-meter camp to Base Camp, completing a rescue officials described as extremely rare at that altitude.

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