Malaysian climber slammed for not thanking Sherpa who rescued him from Everest ‘death zone’
- Gelje Sherpa found Ravichandran Tharumalingam in the mountain’s infamous ‘death zone’, where oxygen is limited, and temperatures dip to minus 30 degrees Celsius
- In an Instagram post, Ravichandran thanked his rescue insurance and partner organisations, but omitted Gelje’s name
Ravichandran Tharumalingam was on death’s door when he was found on May 18 by mountain guide Gelje Sherpa and his Chinese client, who were on their way up to the top of Everest.
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Gelje found Ravichandran shivering from the cold, grasping a rope, and with no bottled oxygen, no Sherpas and no guides, he later told CNN in an interview.
Other teams climbed past Ravichandran, but Gelje persuaded his client to quit their ascent and attempt to save the stranded climber, he told the outlet.
Wrapping Ravichandran in his sleeping mat and carrying him on his back, Gelje brought the climber down to Everest’s Camp 4, where other Sherpas eventually assisted him.
It was a feat in itself – Gelje descended 570 metres (1,900 feet) at extreme altitude in six hours, all while carrying another man.
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Upon recovery, Ravichandran returned to Malaysia and went on national TV in early June to speak about the daring rescue. The climber has summitted Everest at least three times, and lost the tips of eight fingers to frostbite in 2022.
“I am alive today, because I had the best and dedicated Partners – The 14th peaks Expedition Co and Global Rescue Ins,” he wrote.
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Other posts on his Instagram account, in which he advertised a T-shirt, thanked his sponsors, and promoted a Mount Rinjani climb, also did not mention Gelje.
People subsequently flooded Ravichandran’s posts with negative comments, blasting him for failing to recognise the Sherpa who carried him solo to Camp 4.
“Hope you’ll be donating all profits to the Sherpa who saved you,” wrote one commenter.
“You’re alive thanks to a Sherpa,” wrote another.
Much of the criticism levied against Ravichandran focuses on him reserving his main acknowledgements for the Sherpas working for the 14th Peaks Expedition, a climbing sports company that he is partnered with.
14th Peaks Expedition also took part in the rescue, though its team only reached Ravichandran later – after Gelje had carried the Malaysian to Camp 4 on his own.
Gelje runs the company AGA Adventures and does not work for 14th Peaks Expedition. The company’s co-founder, Adriana Brownlee, confirmed with Insider that he neither works with nor for Ravichandran.
After receiving waves of negative comments, Ravichandran eventually acknowledged Gelje in a list of Sherpas who pitched in to rescue him. However, he credited Gelje under his partner organisation.
On his part, Gelje thanked Ravichandran on Sunday evening for mentioning him in the post. “Thank you, hope you are recovering well,” the Sherpa commented.
Gelje has since received an outpouring of support on social media from Malaysians, who are commenting on his old posts to thank him for rescuing Ravichandran.
This spring has seen one of Everest’s deadliest climbing seasons, with 12 people confirmed dead on expeditions and another five climbers missing.
Insider reached out to Gelje via his company and personal social media for comment on Ravichandran’s interactions with him. Brownlee, Gelje’s business partner, responded that the sherpa hoped the situation would “cool off”.
The 14th Peaks Expedition did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment. Ravichandran did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
