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‘At the peak of humanity’: 
Chinese climbers who give up Everest quest metres away from summit to save comatose mountaineer are praised
- Two men climbing Mount Everest who encountered an unconscious climber instantly gave up their dreams of reaching the summit to save her
- One of them refilled the woman’s oxygen cylinder using his supply, resuscitated her and gave her hot water and food to revive her
Alice Yan in Shanghai
Published: 11:00am, 4 Jun, 2023
Fan refilled the woman’s oxygen cylinder using his supply, performed resuscitation and then helped her drink hot water and eat chocolate which saved her life. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu
Two Chinese mountaineers who sacrificed their dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest to save the life of another climber just 400 metres away from the top have been praised as heroes on mainland social media.
Fan Jiangtao and Xie Ruxiang from southern China’s Hunan province were praised by the Provincial Sports Association in a statement for saving the climber on the slopes of Mount Everest, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.
On the evening of May 18, when Fan and his Sherpa guide were at an altitude of about 8,500 metres, they found a female climber lying unconscious on the ground with only weak vital signs.
The woman’s oxygen supply had run out, and she was trembling from the extremely low temperature while her right hand, missing its glove, had turned black from frostbite.
Fan said he instantly began trying to keep the woman alive till help could be found and no longer had any thoughts of reaching the summit.
“At such an altitude, you will feel exhausted even from holding a water bottle,” says Fan of the gruelling effort required to help the woman to safety. Photo: Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Team
“My guide asked me many times if I really wanted to give up ascending the summit. I told him, ‘Yes, my goal is to save a life’,” Fan said.
Fan refilled the woman’s oxygen cylinder using his supply and performed heart resuscitation on her. He then helped her drink hot water and gave her sugar and chocolate.
When the woman had fully regained consciousness, Fan and his guide helped her climb down the mountain.
Since the slope is so steep, it took them two hours to descend 200 metres, and the woman fell unconscious again.
Fan said he felt frustrated by the slow pace and was starting to feel tired and in pain from the effort of getting the woman down the mountain.
“At such an altitude, you will feel exhausted even from holding a water bottle,” he said. “Because my guide and I had reached the limit of our physical capacity, we couldn’t move her any longer. I had to let her stay there and go to seek help.”
Not long after, he met another climber, Xie, who recalled: “When Fan saw me, he cried. He told me he wanted to save a person, but he didn’t have enough strength. I totally understood his desire to save a life. So I also decided to give up my plan of reaching the top, and joined him to save the woman.”
“Ascending to the top of Everest is our dream, but it can’t be compared with life,” says Xie after helping save the woman. Photo: Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Team
“No matter whether she will live or die, we must try our best to get her to our base camp,” Xie said to his guide. “She is just there. If we don’t save her, she will definitely die. If we help, she will probably live.”
Fan, Xie and their guides worked together to carry the woman to a base camp at an altitude of 8,000 metres.
The report said the woman survived and recovered within a couple of days.
“The most difficult part of the rescue was to give up my life’s dream,” Fan said. “Although we didn’t reach the summit, saving a person’s life is far more valuable than reaching the peak.”
“Ascending to the top of Everest is our dream, but it can’t be compared with life,” added Xie.
The story has triggered a wave of compliments for Fan and Xie’s heroism.
“They didn’t reach Mount Everest summit, but they were at the peak of humanity,” one person said.
“You are greater than those reaching the summit. I salute you!” another person added.
A third person said: “I heard it’s almost impossible to save a person on Everest. You are true brave men!”
