Rescued Mount Everest climber faces backlash for insulting his savior

• A climber is attacked online after being rescued by a Sherpa from the ‘danger zone’ on Mount Everest.
• Social media users are upset that he chose to thank his sponsors and partners rather than his savior.
• He eventually posted several thank you notes on the list of people, including his savior.

A Malaysian climber who was rescued from certain death on Mount Everest is now accused on social media of being ungrateful to the Sherpa who saved his life.

The climber, Ravichandran Tharumalingam, was on death’s door when he was found on May 18 by mountain guide Gilgi Sherpa and his Chinese agent, who were on their way to the summit of Everest.

Ravichandran was stuck in the mountain’s infamous “death zone,” where oxygen is limited, and temperatures can drop to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Gilgi found Ravichandran shivering from the cold, clutching a rope, and with no bottled oxygen, no Sherpa, no guides, He later told CNN in an interview.

Other teams climbed past Ravichandran, but Gilgi persuaded his client to abandon their ascent and try to rescue the stranded climber.

Gilgi wrapped Ravichandran in his sleeping mat and carried him on his back, then brought the climber to Everest Camp 4, where other Sherpas eventually helped him.

It was a feat in itself – Gilgi descended 1,900 feet at a steep altitude in six hours, all while carrying another man.

Upon recovery, Ravichandran returned to Malaysia and appeared on national television in early June to talk about the daring rescue. climber has summited Everest at least three times, and lost eight fingers to frostbite in 2022.

But when highlighting the look of media in an Instagram postin which Ravichandran thanked the rescue insurance and partner organisations, Gilgi’s name was omitted.

“I am alive today, because I have the most dedicated partners – Expedition XIV and World Rescue Company,” he wrote.

Other posts on his Instagram account, in which he advertised a shirtAnd Thanks to the sponsors of his projectAnd He promoted climbing Mount Rinjani, and Gilgi was not mentioned either.

People then flooded Ravichandran’s comments with negative comments, criticizing him for failing to recognize the Sherpa who had single-handedly transported him to Camp 4.

“I hope you donate all profits to the Sherpa who saved you,” one commenter wrote.

“You are alive thanks to the Sherpas,” another wrote.

on twitter, People accused Ravichandran From deleting comments that spoke negatively about him.

And almost everyone to for him Recently buttresses, Commentators accused Ravichandran of initially blocking Gelje on Instagram.

Insider cannot independently verify this claim. The climber had been following Gilgi’s account as of Monday, and it is not clear if he had previously banned a mountain guide. However, Gelje shared a story on Instagram on Tuesday Ravichandran allegedly stopped him.

Much of the criticism of Ravichandran focuses on his retention Acknowledgments to the Sherpas who work on the 14th Summits trekthe climbing sports company with which he is involved.

XIV Summits Expedition was also involved in the rescue, although its team didn’t reach Ravichandran until much later – after Gilye had carried the Malaysian to Camp 4 on his own.

Gelje is operated by AGA Adventures and does not operate the 14th Peaks Expedition. The company’s co-founder, Adriana Brownlee, confirmed to Insider that it’s not working with or for Ravichandran.

After receiving waves of negative comments, Ravichandran eventually admitted Gilgi to a list of Sherpas who offered their efforts to save him. However, Gelje was credited under his partner organization.

On his part, Gilgi Ravichandran on Sunday night thanked him for being mentioned in the post. “Thank you, I hope you are recovering well,” Sherpa commented.

Gelje has since received an outpouring of support on social media from Malaysians, who comment on his old posts to thank him for saving Ravichandran.

This spring saw one of Mount Everest The deadliest climbing seasonswith Twelve people are confirmed killed on expeditions and five more climbers are missing.

Insider has reached out to Gelje via his company and personal social media for comment on Ravichandran’s interactions with him. Gilgi’s business partner, Brownlee, responded that the Sherpa hoped “the situation will calm down”.

Fourteenth Summits did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment. Ravichandran did not respond to multiple requests for comment.