Everest Climber 'Blocks' Sherpa Who Saved His Life on Instagram

A mountaineer has been accused of ice-cold behavior after allegedly snubbing a brave sherpa who saved his life on Everest by carrying him for six hours on his back to safety.

Malaysian climber Ravichandran, who goes by the name Ravichandran Everest or Ravi, was attempting to scale the world's tallest mountain when he fell dangerously ill and collapsed not far from the 29,035-foot peak in Nepal.

Incredible footage shows how Gelje Sherpa wrapped the stricken mountaineer in a thick cover, hoisted him on to his back, and painstakingly trudged through the snow to get him off the mountain to receive urgent medical treatment. The heroic sherpa hadn't even been employed by Ravi, but had halted his own client's expedition in favor of saving a stranger's life.

What happened next caused uproar in the mountaineering community, when the rescued man allegedly dismissed the help he had been given and blocked his savior on Instagram – with news of his snub going viral on Monday. Newsweek hasn't yet been able to confirm if the allegations of the snub are correct.

It isn't the first time that climbers have been criticized for mistreating sherpas, a Tibetan ethnic group from the mountainous regions around Tibet, Nepal and the Himalayas.

In 2014, the death of 16 Nepali expedition workers on Mount Everest shone a spotlight on the relationship between climbers, who are often wealthy Westerners, and the local support staff. Speaking at the time, climber and photographer Jake Norton told Newsweek that sherpas were the people on the mountain "working the hardest, making the least, busting their asses in harm's way" who are nevertheless the ones who "tend to get killed more often." He said the inequality made him "sick to my stomach."

On average, about five climbers die on Everest every year, according to AFP. Deadly altitude sickness is responsible for many of those deaths, but climbers are also at risk from falls, hypothermia, frostbite and avalanches. The Nepalese government implemented tough new rules requiring more training and experience for those attempting to scale the peak after 11 mountaineers died trying to reach Everest's summit in 2019.

Incredible footage filmed by a bystander showed how Gelje carried the man down the mountain by strapping him to his back. The victim looked to be as tall, if not taller, than his rescuer. Footage of the incident posted by climber Azreen Yunus and shared by Twitter user Visakan Veerasamy went viral and has been watched more than 1.3 million times.

Describing the rescue on his Instagram page, and posting a short video of how the climber was wrapped in an insulating cover, Gelje wrote on May 20: "You may all be wondering where is the summit photo? Unfortunately no summit yet. At the Balcony during our summit push around 8,300m I saw someone in danger.

"A man who needed rescuing and no one else was helping. I made the decision to cancel our clients summit push so that I could bring him down to safety before he died up there alone. I carried him myself all the way down to Camp 4 where a rescue team helped from then on. I will be back up the mountain soon after regaining energy from a huge task but I am so happy to say he is alive and recovering in hospital."

But those in the mountaineering community claimed that once he had recovered, Ravi played down the rescue and actually blocked Gelje on Instagram.

Ravi's own website, which says he was the first Malaysian to scale K2, the world's second-highest peak, says he "organizes Mount Everest expedition training, preparation, and leading to the summit and making sure all climbers will get the best chance to reach the Everest summit."

Newsweek has reached out to both Gelje Sherpa and Ravi Everest by email, seeking further information and comment.

As the footage and the story of the alleged snub began to reach wider audiences on social media, many viewers flocked to Ravi's Instagram page to criticize him for his apparent poor treatment of the sherpa.

On Sunday, Ravi posted a comment acknowledging the help he had received from Gadje and others. He uploaded a shot of a climber scaling a sheer icy cliff with the caption: "Sherpas are people who are so committed and dedicated to their clients especially coming from '14 Peaks Expedition Co. & The Seven Summit Expedition Co. They never leave you behind. I experienced it this year. When descending from summit, I had difficulty. Tashi heard that I am in trouble, 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 meter for Heli Pick-up for a quick Heli flight to Hospital. Sherpas are important in my 8000 meter expeditions."

He didn't mention Gelje's own company, AGA Adventures, which he co-founded with British climber Adriana Brownlee and is run from the U.K.

But Gelje Sherpa responded graciously to Ravi's post with the words: "Thank you [clasped hands emoji] hope you are recovering well." His post had been liked more than 780 times by Monday.

In another post, Ravi revealed he had spent two days in hospital and thanked the doctors and medical staff for their treatment. But some Instagram users weren't satisfied and accused him of simply editing his comments after being hit by a backlash for blocking the sherpa. One wrote: "...you are not national hero. Sherpa helped you but no thanks at all? Ungrateful guy. Acknowledged people who helped you is the least contribution you can do unless you has no heart." Another added: "Things you don't do : 1. Climb alone 2. Block the sherpa that saved you."

Everest has been in the news recently after shocking photographs revealed how mounds of trash are littering the once-pristine mountain. Climbers have been slammed for dumping garbage, including old tents, clothes, empty oxygen canisters, cutlery and sanitary pads to lighten their loads as they return down the mountain.

Last May, 18-year-old Lucy Westlake of Naperville became the youngest American woman to reach Everest's summit.