According to Chinese media, the 50-year-old Liu from Hunan province, central China, was discovered by her compatriot Fan Jiangtao in critical condition due to lack of oxygen, with trembling limbs, even missing gloves, and bruised hands... about 400m from the top of Everest on May 18.
Fan decided to save Liu by asking the Nepalese guide to escort him for help, and thus, Fan had to give up his dream of reaching the top of Everest.
Liu was taken to base camp and was safely treated.
The guide, the strongest climber among them, was initially reluctant to help, so Fan offered $10,000 to cover the rescue costs.
This guide charges a standard fee of $8,000 to $10,000 to help climbers reach the top of Everest by guiding them through harsh weather conditions, preparing equipment and carrying a lot of gear.
The two men carried Liu for about 200 meters down the mountain before reaching their limit due to the harsh weather conditions. Fan then met Xie Ruxiang, a member of the Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Association. Xie agreed to join the rescue effort, abandoning his plans to reach the summit.
The Sherpa guide then carried Liu on his back while Xie and Fan took turns elevating her legs to help increase blood flow as they descended to base camp, where she received treatment for several days before recovering.
However, Liu refused to return the full amount to Fan and Xie because the two had already paid the Nepalese guide $10,000 in advance. Not to mention that each of them had paid the guide $1,800 in tips. Of the $10,000 rescue fee, Liu said she had only paid $4,000.
"I had planned to climb Mount Everest in 40 days and spent 400,000 yuan ($56,000) to achieve this goal. I did not want to give up my plan to conquer the peak. Moreover, the rescue fee was paid by me. I did not know what to say. I just wondered why she was reluctant to pay," Fan said indignantly.
"Xie and I feel bad about this incident. Up to now, she hasn't even said thank you to us. She's so ungrateful! We don't want to have anything to do with her from now on," Fan added.
Fn and Xie spent tens of thousands of dollars but could not climb Everest to save Liu.
The story has captured the attention of mainland China, being viewed 300 million times on Weibo alone.
"After this story, will climbers save or help others on Everest? I think probably not. This woman has extinguished the hope of survival of other climbers who have difficulty climbing Everest," one commenter said.
“We should take her back to the top of the mountain,” another commented. “Does she have a conscience? Isn’t her life worth $10,000?”
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