Misunderstanding of remuneration or due to language barrier, Sherpa's guide confirms that Fan and Xie gave up charging Ms. Liu to save their compatriots | Sherpa | Language barrier
When contacting Lakpa Sherpa, he was preparing for a journey to Pakistan with several Sherpa guides, who were about to embark on the climb of K2, the world's second highest peak, Mount Chogory. He only goes online with communication software every 10 to 20 minutes to reply to messages.
Lakepa Sherpa is the founder of 8k Mountain Company and the leader of the Sherpa guides of the Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Team.
According to reports, at around 20:20 pm on May 18th this year, Hunan Province mountaineer Fan Jiangtao discovered unconscious Ms. Liu while climbing only three to four hundred meters away from the summit. Ignoring the advice of Sherpa's guide, he decided to give up rushing to the summit to help his compatriots descend the mountain and met his teammate Xie Ruxiang while descending. The two decided to prioritize saving people, and Xie Ruxiang also proposed to give Sherpa's guide ten thousand dollars as compensation after the rescue. Afterwards, Ms. Liu expressed that she was only willing to pay 40% of the remuneration.
But some netizens also said that Fan and Xie only met Ms. Liu on their way down the mountain after failing to reach the summit, and the rescue was also handled by Ms. Liu's mountaineering company, Kaitu, and had nothing to do with Fan and Xie. The controversy has attracted a lot of attention from netizens.
The reporter contacted Lakepa Sherpa, who stated that he had obtained detailed information from two Sherpa guides who had personally experienced the rescue incident. In response to the controversy raised by netizens, Lakepa Sherpa responded.
Fan and Xie are in the process of reaching the summit, giving up the opportunity to save others
Shangkan News: Did Fan and Xie, two Chinese mountaineers, meet a female mountaineer for the first time while climbing to the summit or retreating back? Did they give up rushing to the top because of rescuing Ms. Liu?
Lakepa Sherpa: This incident occurred during our two Chinese teams and Sherpa's climb to the top, when they were in good health and capable of reaching the summit. The two Chinese members of the Hunan team did indeed give up their attempt to climb the mountain to rescue the female climber, as they discovered that she was a friend from another team.
When they went to the summit, they found her unconscious and alone under the balcony of the death zone. They decided to give her their own oxygen and requested the Sherpas to save her life, instead of going to the summit. The female climber was successfully rescued by the team to Camp 4. Their kindness played a crucial role, as they made a significant decision to abandon their dream of climbing Mount Everest and save the life of this Chinese woman.
Looking at the news: However, we noticed that you emphasized in an interview with a Chinese media on June 6th that "the team discovered a woman who had lost consciousness upon returning, and they did not give up the opportunity to reach Mount Everest to help her." Why did this statement change?
Lakepa Sherpa: It's a communication bias. I have had clear communication with two Sherpas who participated in the mountaineering regarding this rescue. As they advanced towards the summit, they encountered the female climber on their way up.
The guide repeatedly suggested that the two continue to charge the top, and ultimately rescued them at the customer's request
Looking at the news: What advice did the Sherpa guide give to the two Chinese members when they decided to give up pushing to the top? Have there been any differences in communication between the two parties?
Lakepa Sherpa: In this incident, when Fan and his companions decided to help Ms. Liu and gave up climbing, Sherpa repeatedly advised them to continue climbing. Abandoning climbing for the sake of others is a very significant decision, as Ms. Liu does not belong to our team.
Furthermore, it is evident that as a mountaineering Sherpa, the expedition team leader and team will ask them "why did they come back without reaching the summit", especially when the client is in the best physical condition and has enough oxygen to reach the summit.
But when the client made a significant decision to give up climbing and take on the responsibility of rescuing Ms. Liu, despite many language barriers as our Sherpa guide did not speak Chinese, they managed to save her life from the brink of death.
Sherpa's guide has never requested a fee, or misunderstandings due to language barriers
On the news: Two mountaineers stated that they had offered Sherpa $10000 in compensation for rescuing Ms. Liu, and were later pursued by Sherpa's guide. Has Sherpa's guide ever negotiated with Xie and Fan regarding a $10000 compensation issue? At which stage of the rescue event did it occur?
Lakepa Sherpa: Our Sherpa guides have never requested any rescue funds, but we would be happy if their hard work pays off in any way. This is 100% based on actual events that occurred. During the rescue process, there was a language barrier in communication between both parties, but we still successfully carried out the rescue.
This year, our 8K exploration team has successfully completed more than 12 rescues, including the Nepalese army, Malaysian mountaineers, this Chinese lady, etc. We have also selflessly formed more forms of mountaineering companions without expecting any return.
