An extraordinary spat has played out online between a seasoned Mount Everest climber and the Sherpa who recently saved his life.
In recent weeks, the world was in awe as social media footage emerged of Gelje Sherpa carrying a Malaysian climber, Ravichandran Tharumalingam, for six hours out of the infamous ‘death zone’ where oxygen is thin, and temperatures are below freezing.
Today, it’s par for the course for Everest climbers and Sherpas alike to share their achievements or misadventure on social media.
Gelje and Tharumalingam did just that, but their entangled story soon snowballed into a compelling public rumble.
Tharumalingam was rescued from certain death on Mount Everest on May 18 by Gelje, who risked his own life to bring him down from the mountain’s treacherous slopes.
The feat made headlines and news bulletins the world over, thrusting both climber and Sherpa into the limelight.
According to Gelje, he and the Chinese client he was guiding stumbled upon Tharumalingam without bottled oxygen and suffering from extreme cold.
Gelje convinced the other client to abandon their summit attempt to assist the stranded climber.
A tough sell given a summit attempt can cost anywhere between $66,000 and $170,000.
“When I found him in that state, my heart did not let me leave him there,” Gelje told AFP.
“When I decided to go down, my client did not agree at first. Of course, he was there after spending a lot of money, it must have been his dream for years and he had to find time to come here to climb.”
“He got angry and said he wanted to go to the summit.
“I had to scold him and tell him that he has to descend because he was my responsibility and I couldn’t send him to the summit on his own. He got upset.”
He explained that he wanted to take the sick man down the mountain.
“Then he realised that by ‘rescue’ I meant that I wanted to save him. He understood and then he apologised later.”
Wrapping Tharumalingam in his sleeping mat, Gelje carried him on his back for six hours down a challenging descent of 1900 feet.
Eventually, other Sherpas joined the rescue effort at Everest’s Camp 4 – the last camp before the summit.
Tharumalingam has achieved the summit of Everest three times prior to the 2023 season and even lost fingers to frostbite just last year.
On his return to Malaysia he appeared on national television in early June to share his miraculous rescue story.
But there was one glaring omission – Gelje.
In numerous Instagram and Facebook posts about his recovery, he omitted any mention of Gelje, the man arguably responsible for his survival.
Instead, Tharumalingam peppered his insurance provider and other sponsors with gratitude for his rescue.
Climbers and the global public quickly caught wind of what appeared to be a catastrophic snub towards the Sherpa who had carried him to safety.
“I am alive today, because I had the best and dedicated Partners — The 14th peaks Expedition Co and Global Rescue Ins,” he wrote on June 3 with a picture of himself being interviewed on television.
It prompted an emotive response as fellow climbers and members of the Nepali community flooded into his comments.
“Thank you for NOT MENTIONING the name of the Sherpa who saved your life. His name is Gelje,” one wrote.
“You are alive today because a Sherpa and his friend took you down to safety, and it was documented for everyone to see. Acknowledge that,” another demanded.
Accusations soon arose that Tharumalingam had even deleted negative comments and blocked Gelje on Instagram.
Gelje, in response to the controversy, shared a post on Instagram corroborating the claim that Tharumalingam had initially blocked him.
On Sunday, Ravichandran sought to rectify the situation acknowledging for the first time Gelje as one of the Sherpas involved in his rescue, albeit under his partner organisation.
“Sherpas are people who are so committed and dedicated to their clients especially coming from 14 Peaks Expedition Co. and The Seven Summit Expedition Co,” he wrote.
“They never leave you behind.
“I experienced it this year. When descending from summit, I had difficulty. Tashi heard that I am in trouble, (and) he organised the rescue team (Mingma Tendi, Gelje Sherpa, Nima Dorchi, Nima Tashi, Dawa Sherpa and Dipen Bhote).
“They are high-altitude Sherpas who make lots of sacrifices for their clients. They brought me to 7300 meters for Heli Pick-up for a quick Heli flight to hospital.”
Gelje was appreciative of the support.
“Thank you … hope you are recovering well,” Gelje wrote in a comment on the post.
This climbing season on Everest has been one marred by what will be a record breaking 12 confirmed deaths, with five climbers still missing and presumed dead.
Gelje has turned down further media requests for comment, with a business partner telling Insider they hope the situation will “cool off”.