Climber Gives Up on Mt.Everest Summit in ‘Death Zone’ to Save a Dying Stranger

Climbing the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest is every trekker’s dream. Each year nearly 800 people attempt to climb the 29,031.7 ft high mountain. However, many run the risk of facing mishaps. Recently, on May 18, a Malaysian man narrowly escaped death at Everest’s 27,000ft high level famously known as the ”death zone.” Luckily, he was rescued by a sherpa named Gelje Sherpa, who chose to save the man over his goal of climbing the peak of the mountain with his client.

On June 7, the Instagram page Pubity shared a heart-winning video of Gelje using his years of mountaineering technique to save the man from dying at -30 degrees Celsius. His courageous and selfless gesture supremely impressed the internet.

How did Gelje save the dying man?

On Thursday, May 18, Gelje Sherpa was helping his client climb Everest when he saw the Malaysian man clinging to a rope, shivering, and experiencing extreme discomfort. The sherpa noticed that the man had no friends, no oxygen cylinder or sherpa around. Leaving him in such a helpless situation would jeopardize his life. Therefore, he decided to execute his rescue operation to save the man.

In the Instagram video, the sherpa was seen strapping the man onto a sleeping mat. He carried him on his back to 1900 ft down for six hours. Soon he was joined by another sherpa and both carried the man turn by turn. On reaching a safety camp, he was then helicoptered to a base camp where he made full recovery.

30-year-old Gelje is the youngest to climb Mt. K2 in the winter. According to a report by CNN, he previously carried out 55 rescue operations. However, saving the Malaysian man was the toughest experience of his life.

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Gelje’s selfless gesture won the internet’s heart. Many thanked him for being so courageous.

Internet expresses immense praise for Gelje Sherpa

Praising his gesture for saving the man, one of the Instagram users hailed him saying, “He didn’t conquer the mountains but he conquered everyone’s heart. He is a HERO ❤️❤️”

Gelje chose saving someone’s life over his professional work. His gesture was not something everybody could perform. Hence, netizens wished him the best, “I hope Gelje gets everything he needs and is wonderful. I hope the person he saved gets over their embarrassment and doesn’t repeat their mistake.” Another user compared him to a hero, “Not all heroes wear capes 🫡”

Moreover, many respected the high responsibility job that sherpas do in the mountains, “Sherpas are heroes. Plus he’s summited many times” and “Sherpas are amazing and never get enough credit!! True heroes.”

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In the truest sense, Gelje’s life-saving act proved that humanity is alive in this world. All it needs is to have a generous heart and respect for each other’s lives.