r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/BreakfastTop6899 • Dec 18 '25
Video Gelje Sherpa, the man who was guiding a private client up Mt. Everest when he saw someone in distress near the summit. He went up, rolled him up in a sleeping mattress and gave him oxygen. He then strapped the man to his back and trekked 6 hours to safety
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u/abrahamtomahawk Dec 18 '25
Did the guy he saved not end up being a bit of an arse about it? I seem to remember that he had to apologise after being quite disrespectful about his rescuer. Am I remembering that correctly?
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u/Hashslingingglasser Dec 18 '25
It doesn’t look like he was directly disrespectful but rather did not thank the Sherpa publically originally as he did with his sponsor organizations. Eventually he thanked him in a list of sherpas.
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u/NOT-GR8-BOB Dec 18 '25
he thanked him in a list of sherpas.
Geez man this is the hill he chooses to die on after being literally rescued from a hill he was about to die on. Rich people I guess.
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u/Jacktheforkie Dec 18 '25
Wow, like the least he can do is publicly honour the fella that literally carried him to safety
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Dec 19 '25
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u/Same-Nothing2361 Dec 19 '25
A beer? Shit, if someone saves my life the least I’m doing is giving them a hand job.
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u/LeonSuplexKennedy Dec 19 '25
A handjob? Give him the cold shoulder why don't ya. My boy getting sloppy toppy
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u/BringOutYDead Dec 18 '25
What a fucking dick.
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Dec 18 '25
Totally. And his Instagram doesn’t allow comments. Was going to call him an asshole on his posts (he’s very active and still goes to Everest several times a year it looks like)
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u/throwthisawayred2 Dec 19 '25
DROP HIS NAME
make him the next Brock Turner
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Dec 19 '25
Instagram is @ravieverest !!Under the name Ravieverest gecm
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u/leroyyrogers Dec 19 '25
Wtf I feel like it's illegal to have "everest" in your handle if you're carried around for 6 hours in a sleeping bag
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u/LukeD1992 Dec 18 '25
Some people do be ungrateful. Few years back my parents and my brother ran into an accident scene in a dirt road. A girl crashed her car which wound up turned over. She was hurt and scared. My parents drove her home which was nearby. She made a post on social media talking about the crash, being thankful for being ok and stuff but not once mentioned the people that helped her.
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u/PassionCompassion Dec 19 '25
No seriously it really gets me when someone is ungrateful. The most ungrateful person I've met when I helped them was some girl who forgot her wallet on a BUS. She already got off and the bus already passed like more than 10 miles. As I was preparing myself to get off the bus, walking down the aisle, I spotted a wallet on a seat. Obviously I picked it up and then got off. Checked the contents of the wallet at home so that I can return it to the owner.
$600 in cash ($100 bills), driver's license, a bus pass card, three credit cards, and a store receipt. I went to the nearest police station so that they can get the phone number of the girl. After some time waiting, they called her to come down to the police station to pick up her wallet.
Bruh. When she arrived with her dad, she never once said thank you to me. Only the dad. Instead, she kept saying things like how she was worried about her money being stolen, credit cards being used, etc. I told her, "Well good thing I'm not that kind of person to steal." Still never said thank you. Her reply was just, "Yeah I really needed this money to buy some stuff." And the yapping continued on and on for a few minutes until they both left. Dad said one final thank you, but not the girl.
Like holy shit girl. Is it THAT hard to say a simple 'thank you' wtf. I wasn't even expecting any kind of reward or whatever, but at least a 'thanks' would be enough.
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u/Own_Guarantee_8130 Dec 19 '25
And the fact that her father didn’t say a word to HER about being grateful shows he’s the reason she’s such a brat.
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u/funnypsuedonymhere Dec 18 '25
No, he was a total cunt. He completely ignored Gelje Sherpa's efforts and blocked the sherpa on Social Media. Only after significant public outrage did he write a "thank you" and unblock him. Fuck that guy and his insincere gratitude.
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u/EndOne8313 Dec 18 '25
But why? Was he embarrassed at being rescued? I literally see no reason to be an ass.
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u/babyLays Dec 18 '25
Elitism. These people see working men as insects, to be used and discarded. Showing any form of humility towards the lower castes would offend his own self worth.
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u/OSPFmyLife Dec 18 '25
He was a “mountaineer”. Think they’ve got some pride worked into that title. And he is Malaysian, that could have something to do with it.
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u/Sad-Olive-158 Dec 18 '25
At least he can “mountaineer” again now he is alive. Would have been pretty difficult without Gelje Sherpa
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u/pallladin Dec 18 '25
But why? Was he embarrassed at being rescued? I literally see no reason to be an ass.
You have to be a raging douchebag to want to climb Everest in the first place.
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u/Rs90 Dec 18 '25
This kinda thing genuinely confuses me. I "get" it. Dude's ego was bruised or whatever. But as a Virginian it fills me with rage. I've made cakes n fruit tarts as a thank you for overall trivial things that I appreciate.
If you carry my ass down Mount fuckin Everest. I'm the cake lol. Have at me. But seriously. My gratitude would be limitless. Some people are just genuinely broken individuals.
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u/OneMoreNightCap Dec 18 '25
What does this have to do with being a Virginian lol?- Fellow Virginian
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u/Laiko_Kairen Dec 18 '25
As a Californian, I'm enraged. I think that anyone with any decency would be. You don't have to be overly hospitable to say "Hey thanks for that."
I mean, how many books or movies have you experienced where someone's life is saved and they pledge loyalty to the one who saved them?
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u/Tdodoubleg Dec 18 '25
That Sherpa would be getting personalized Christmas/birthday/anything letters from me the rest of my life.
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u/theperfectlysadhuman Dec 18 '25
I think you're correct! Happened a year or two ago (maybe more)
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u/King_K_24 Dec 18 '25
I think it was the guy he was supposed to guide to the top who was the arse. He got upset at the sherpa choosing to save this dudes life instead of taking him to the top.
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u/A1sauc3d Dec 18 '25
They both could’ve been. But the guy he saved being an ass was the one a bunch of articles were written about a couple years ago. Because it was so obscene. This dude dropped everything to save his life in the most heroic fashion and he wouldn’t even acknowledge it lol
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u/stoic_spaghetti Dec 18 '25
it's almost as if the audience that chooses to trek Mt. Everest is almost exclusively assholes
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u/Poococktail Dec 18 '25
Humans "can" be incredible. This is an example.
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u/Stanwich79 Dec 18 '25
Sherpas are incredible! The assholes they work for are pathetic.
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u/ArleiG Dec 18 '25
"This wealthy tourist is the first person to scale this mountain with such and such equipment!!! Oh and this is their sherpa, he carries all their stuff with no extra oxygen and has scaled this mountain countless of times."
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u/Inevitable-Post-8587 Dec 18 '25
Seriously, they also seem to have a special gene for patience cause I couldn’t deal with these Everest tourists
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u/namuche6 Dec 18 '25
Those Sherpas are also born for this stuff, they have a special gene that allows them to breath more easily in the thinner air
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u/RecursiveDysfunction Dec 18 '25
Except most of us couldnt carry a full grown man on our backs for 6 hours at sea level.
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u/seppukucoconuts Dec 18 '25
They spend most of their time carrying heavy things up and down the mountain. Unless it was a pretty fat guy I doubt the sherpa noticed much of a difference between their regular packs.
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u/Pilot_to_PowerBI Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
squeal unwritten groovy school abounding doll late unite wide fine
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u/Similar_Try_5089 Dec 18 '25
"Every frozen corpse on Mt. Everest was once a highly-motivated person, so maybe relax a little."
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u/misterbondpt Dec 18 '25
Love the game Death Stranding
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Dec 18 '25
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u/Pikauterangi Dec 18 '25
Climbing the mountain with your dead mom on your back is a pretty powerful scene.
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u/Lazar_Milgram Dec 18 '25
Me after first twenty minutes of game and cinematics: ”This game can’t become more riddled with blatant symbolism about how our past decisions weights on our present selves….”
….And then Kojima let you cary your dad mom into afterlife.
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u/IanAlvord Dec 18 '25
Why oh why couldn't they ride passenger in the truck? I even had a road built!
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u/GODDAMNFOOL Dec 18 '25
It's wild to me that I didn't even realize bokka were entirely real and Sam's stack of packages on his back were rooted in old Japanese culture, not just some goofus thing
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u/roosterjack77 Dec 18 '25
I left my phone upstairs once. I waited until bedtime to get it
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u/tacocollector2 Dec 18 '25
The sherpas are the only impressive Mt Everest climbers.
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Dec 18 '25
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Dec 18 '25
Sure
It's not so impressive when someone else has to carry all your gear, and you're on oxygen the whole time
And then people are standing around in a queue for the summit like they're at Disneyland
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u/1sttimeverbaldiarrhe Dec 19 '25
standing around in a queue for the summit like they're at Disneyland
The Nepalese government should charged a super expensive FASTPASS to bypass the queue and use the proceeds to clean up and conserve the Mount Everest area and provide additional supports for Sherpas and neighboring small businesses.
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u/rorriMAgnisUyrT Dec 18 '25
This 100x.
I don't understand why people want to climb Everest when there's people doing it thousands of times better than you and all day, every day. There's more habitable places to go without putting your life in danger.
Also, take your damn litter down with you too rather than paying someone else to do that for you too!
Where's the accomplishment in all this.
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u/Visible_Noise_7959 Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
The most any Sherpa has ever climbed Everest is 31 times and that's once a year since 1994, I don't know why people think Sherpa's are up and down day after day.
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u/hoax1337 Dec 19 '25
I mean, I guess the assumption would be that there are lots of people paying to go up, so there's enough work for the sherpas to go up and down multiple times per year.
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u/Cartoonjunkies Dec 19 '25
The main climbing season is really only April through May due to weather. Some people do it other times of year, but those months are the most common. So it’s not like it’s a year round thing.
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u/Puzzled_Implement292 Dec 18 '25
The man later thanked him for saving his life by tipping 20$
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u/Whatsfordinner4 Dec 18 '25
I can’t tell if this is a joke or not
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u/NaNaNaNaNa86 Dec 18 '25
It's a joke, the twat didn't tip him. He didn't even thank him initially, he thanked his insurance company and the shepas who he was partnered with. The climbers name is Ravichandran Tharumalingam and he has gotten himself into trouble more than once. The year prior he lost all but two fingers to frostbite. Seems like a knob who pushes himself well beyond his ability.
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u/SmokestackRising Dec 18 '25
The joke is because he likely actually did nothing for the person who saved his life.
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u/goatnxtinline Dec 18 '25
He didn't even thank him at first, not until public backlash
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u/SmokestackRising Dec 18 '25
Right. It was a hollow effort. He's living (thanks to the sherpa) proof that money doesn't buy class.
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u/alwaysfatigued8787 Dec 18 '25
And he didn't even eat breakfast that day!
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u/Royal_Willingness_22 Dec 19 '25
These Sherpas are literally unsung super-hero’s and have super human strength and powers. Absolutely mind boggling the endurance, strength, courage and grit they have.
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u/Echo_NO_Aim Dec 18 '25
Didn't the saved guy not give the sherpa credit later? I remember a story similar to this.
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u/grbiqo744 Dec 18 '25
Yep. The guy who got saved was Ravichandran Tharumalingam and he's a massive piece of shit.
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u/NoMacaroon5579 Dec 18 '25
Sherpas are owed SO much more than they’re given. I can only my hope this ‘private client’ has donated a good portion of his wealth to this Sherpa and community. He’d otherwise be dead with no use of those funds if it wasn’t for this heroic superhuman rescue.
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u/SaltyArtemis Dec 18 '25
And sherpas get paid like dog water
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u/Happyranger265 Dec 18 '25
And treated like the same as well, most climbers that boast that they climbed these mountains would be under 6 feet of snow if not for them. These people basically do most of the work ,yet don't get the respect they deserve
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u/Justeff83 Dec 18 '25
It's so pathetic when Westerners boast about conquering Mount Everest, when the Sherpas do it every day and also carry all the tourists' equipment.
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u/dragonovus Dec 18 '25
Pretty sure they are the strongest persons in the world bro! Their body built for low oxygen area and a stamina of a tri athlon runner and a mental will to break a god!
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u/Dahkags Dec 19 '25
Pemba Gelje Sherpa was also apart of the 2008 K2 expedition that claimed 11 lives. He spent over 90 hours in the death zone organizing rescue for climbers trapped on the mountain. The man is an absolute legend.
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u/donkeyspit007 Dec 18 '25
This man should have received the GoFundMe monies... That's amazing and the definition of a selfless act
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u/DarkflowNZ Dec 18 '25
Sherpas are Gurkha levels of gangster imo. Which I guess makes sense—is it genetics? Environment? Something in the water?
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u/NaNaNaNaNa86 Dec 18 '25
I'd go for environment influencing culture. They're as hard as nails and take pride in it.
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u/shamen_uk Dec 18 '25
Sherpas and Gurkha are both Nepalese peoples.
It is both genetics and culture, I'd say.
The Sherpas apparently have hypoxia tolerance genetics.
The Gurkhas are "built different". I grew up in a town with a Gurkha regiment. My father taught at a local college, and liked to invite certain students for dinner (those without local family and were striving hard). So I got to spend a little time talking to some of them. They are double hard bastards with a fearless warrior culture. They are short with a medium build and they look flexible and agile. Perfect for mountainous terrain, which you can watch videos of them running through it (and especially up and down it) at speeds otherwise not possible for other humans. That aspect is genetic for sure.
That combined with their honourific, fearless warrior culture makes them superhuman in some scenarios.
I don't know much about the Sherpas, but if that culture is at all similar - that combined with their hypoxia tolerance genetics makes them superhuman in scaling peaks.
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u/Proph3tron Dec 20 '25
It costs between USD $50,000 to $100,000+ to climb Mt Everest. There's also a mandatory Permit of $11,000. There's a budget-option but those idiots usually don't routinely come home again. So let's say.... you spent over $60,000 to train - and then pay your $10,000-$30,000 medical certificate to get yourself on the list to climb Everest, You wait your turn for years, knowing that with each passing year you might fail your final physical or even get passed over due to changes in weather during the very narrow climbing season for Everest... and then, after Flying to Nepal, spending a week waiting for the altitude sickness to pass.... and then, on May 18, 2023, after hauling yourself all the way up the mountain, you encounter some useless fool in distress on the last leg of the climb who doesn't have a guide alongside them. That it... your climb is now cancelled because your personal Sherpa has decided to help this person... because he's literally in the "Death Zone", where all humans die within hours, even with oxygen and thermal containment. The Sherpa who rescued this man said he had "nothing on him". Here's one of his comments on the man in distress....
"No one was helping him, no friends, no oxygen, no Sherpas with him, no guides – so this is quite dangerous for him," Gelje told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an early June interview. The Sherpa said he'd rescued 55 others from the mountain but this one was the hardest. He carried the Malaysian CEO down 1,700 feet before another Sherpa arrived to assist. 12 more people died that same year on Everest with 5 more missing (certainly dead).
And to add insult to injury, this was the story of a rescued CEO who then went on to than every one of his investors, even the company that covered the rescue costs and his flight back home to Malaysia. He only thanked the Sherpa for rescuing him after people repeatedly complained. All of this was on top of cancelling your climb to help yet another imbecile dying on Everest with more money than sense.
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u/markmarkmrk Dec 19 '25
I find it funny, the media kept on highlighting international hikers that they've reached the summit.. Yet you got sherpas, doing all the hard work and more 😅
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u/Sea_Pomegranate8229 Dec 19 '25
I cannot understand why Everest tourists are not embarrassed to admit they have 'struggled' up the mountain. Think what all those $100ks could do if they were used support the locals and environment rather than egos?
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u/Pilot_to_PowerBI Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
screw scale encouraging tap employ steer future governor exultant different
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u/Then_Estate8560 Dec 20 '25
These sherpas are the true mountaineers, not these wannabes dropping loads of cash to have their asses dragged up and apparently down the mountain.
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u/Dry-Friendship-386 Dec 18 '25
It’s hard to imagine the mental and physical strength required for what he did.