Gelje Sherpa/Reuters
Ngima Tashi Sherpa carries a Malaysian climber as he is rescued from the “death zone” above camp four on Everest.
A Malaysian climber narrowly survived after a Nepali sherpa guide hauled him from below the summit of Mount Everest in an “extraordinary” high-altitude rescue, a government official said on Wednesday.
Gelje Sherpa, 30, was guiding a Chinese client to the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit of Everest on May 18 when he saw the Malaysian climber clinging to a rope and shivering from the extreme cold in an area called a “death zone,” where the temperature can be immersed to minus 30 degrees Celsius (-86F) or less.
Gelje hauled the climber 600 meters (1,900 feet) down from the Balcony area to the South Col, for about six hours, where Nima Tahi Sherpa, another guide, joined in the rescue.
“We wrap the climber in a mat, drag him through the snow or pull him on our backs at camp III,” Gelje said.
01:04 – Source: CNN
Watch the ‘almost impossible’ rescue from Mt. Everest
A helicopter using a long line then lifted him from the 7,162-meter (23,500 feet) high Camp III down to base camp.
“It is almost impossible to save climbers at that height,” Tourism Department official Bigyan Koirala told Reuters. “This is a very rare operation.”
Gelje said he convinced his Chinese client to stop his summit attempt and descend the mountain, saying it was important to him to save the climber.
“Saving a life is more important than praying in a monastery,” said Gelje, a devout Buddhist.
Tashi Lakhpa Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks company, which provided logistics to the Malaysian climber, declined to be named, citing his client’s privacy. The climber was put on a flight to Malaysia last week.
Nepal issued a record 478 permits for Everest during this year’s March to May climbing season.
At least 12 climbers have died – the highest number in eight years, and another five are still on the slopes of Everest.
