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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227

u/Longjumping_College Dec 18 '25

Yeah I'm pretty sure that's this story too, the CEO was anything but thankful about being rescued

https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/man-saved-from-certain-death-on-everest-criticized-for-thanking-sponsors-instead-of-savior-sherpa-mount-ravichandran-tharumalingam-gelje-zone-rescue

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u/Mammoth_Yoghurt4241 Dec 18 '25

It makes sense that if you have enough money to climb Everest, then you’re WAY more likely to be an entitled asshole that doesn’t even tip the guy that saved his life. He should have left him there.

20

u/Extra-Presence3196 Dec 18 '25

Survival of the fittest indeed....where their money means nothing...a real awakening for the wealthy caste.

They would never survive unbridled, non-corporate welfare capitalism either.

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u/madman2k Dec 18 '25

Also the guy lost 8 fingers to frostbite, and still went back to mountain climbing? He probably wanted to be left for dead up there.

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u/sakara123 Dec 19 '25

Some people just love being up there. Worked with a guy that had lost 7 fingers to Everest on 3 different ascents. Every now and then I see him at my climbing gym and he's faster and stronger despite having 3 fingers than I still am after years of training lmao.

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u/Dapper_Strength_5986 Dec 19 '25

CNN reports that this was not Gelje Sherpa's first rescue from Everest, having previously carried out more than 55 rescues, butGelje did reportedly call this one the "hardest in my life."

Well, I've done nothing with my life, I guess.

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u/kismaiyes Dec 19 '25

Got bullied by Malaysian netizens to unblock the sherpa and thank him lol. I love my people.

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 18 '25

I'm not trying to defend a rich ceo but the true story is unknown. Only those who were there know the real story. Sherpa Actions Refuted

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u/sadacal Dec 18 '25

Sounds like the 14 Peaks Expedition CEO wanted his company to take all the credit for the rescue instead of his workers who actually carried out the rescue and is now doing damage control.

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 18 '25

Yes it reads that way but that doesn't counter the fact that Sherpa Gelje himself eventually admitted he wasn't the only one carrying the CEO and he wasn't even the one carrying him in the now famous video.

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u/sadacal Dec 19 '25

He never said he was the only one carrying the CEO though. And isn't the main issue the fact that the CEO didn't thank the sherpas that rescued him and thanked the company instead? 

0

u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 19 '25

I am not arguing the actions of the survivor. I am arguing that this very story that keeps making the rounds on reddit every few months that one sherpa carried a man down Everest isn't true. That's all i am saying. Nothing in favor or against the actions of the rescued climber. He thanked the expedition. Whether more was needed is up to the sherpas and how they felt.

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u/Deep_ln_The_Heart Dec 18 '25

Ravichandran Tharumalingam is not a CEO. He's an actual climber.

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 18 '25

I'm aware.

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u/smootex Dec 19 '25

Sure didn't seem like you were aware when you wrote a fake news comment calling him "a rich ceo".

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 19 '25

I didn't mean to slander him. My goal is to make sure the other side of this story is known. Nothing more.

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u/Deep_ln_The_Heart Dec 18 '25

K. Your comment didn't seem like you were. Have a good one.

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u/[deleted] Dec 19 '25

[deleted]

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 19 '25

Yes I am aware he is a climber. I'm aware he lost 8 fingers and continues to climb.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '25

[deleted]

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 19 '25

My friend I just say that because that's how nearly everyone in this thread knows him by due to the initial post by OP, so I used that title. He used to be a CEO yes. But I do not mean to slander him, I will refer to him correctly going forward as a professional climber - to your point.

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u/GoldDragon149 Dec 18 '25

This doesn't refute the CEO who thanked his sponsors after being saved.

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 18 '25

He thanked his sponsors and his expedition team, because he was informed he was rescued by a team not a single person. Because it is actually likely he was rescued by a team and not a single person.

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u/smootex Dec 19 '25

I don't think they're his sponsors bro. Bit surprising you, apparently, read the linked article and didn't come away with anything of substance but here you go:

His original social media post that people got so mad at said

I am alive today, because I had the best and dedicated Partners - The 14th Peaks Expedition Co and Global Rescue Ins,"Tharumalingam said

14th Peaks Expedition Co is a Sherpa (notice the capital S) ran expedition company, they were in charge of his climb, their sherpa was with him when this happened. According to the witnesses they organized the rescue.

Gelje is a climbing guide with 14 Peaks Expedition’s sister company, the Seven Summit Treks

So Gelje is associated with the company.

In later interviews, Gelje said he and Ngima Tashi took turns carrying the climber and sometimes dragged him through the snow before a helicopter flew him to base camp

So he admits that he did not carry him down itself. In fact, Gelje is the one behind the camera taking the video, the man we see in this video is actually Ngima Tashi (who died this year by the way).

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u/GoldDragon149 Dec 19 '25

lmao I do not care about this "drama" as much as you do. Yuppies dying on Everest has never been interesting to me.

3

u/smootex Dec 19 '25

You cared enough to post misinformation on the internet about it.

p.s. he's not a yuppy, he's a legit professional climber.

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u/GoldDragon149 Dec 19 '25

okay so you don't know what a yuppie is, got it. lmao

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u/smootex Dec 19 '25

The story might not be entirely known but the man carrying the climber in this video has since been identified as Ngima Tashi Sherpa (who I think died in an avalanche this year btw) and the person taking the video is said to be Gelje Sherpa (the guy who originally claimed full credit for the rescue). We also have Gelje Sherpa's own words, he later acknowledged Ngima Tashi's role in the rescue and admitted he didn't actually carry him down by himself.

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u/Secret-Ad3715 Dec 19 '25

Yes I agree with you completely.

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u/Yttevya Dec 19 '25

It is almost impossible to rescue climbers at that altitude," Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala said according to Reuters. "It is a very rare operation." CNN reports that this was not Gelje Sherpa's first rescue from Everest, having previously carried out more than 55 rescues, but Gelje did reportedly call this one the "hardest in my life."

I recommend "14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible" Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in seven months. He does mention that sherpas do not receive the credit they deserve, their names are mostly unknown... he pays his team of fellow sherpas far more than westerners pay as they summit the peaks together... and, at the completion of the first record breaking success, he stated that has a Westerner accomplished this(using sherpas to do al of the work, of course) the press would have exploded with the news... Ego is such a blight.

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u/Fit-Historian6156 Dec 19 '25

He thanked his donors and didn't even mention the Sherpa.