Born in the shadow of the world's highest peaks and forged on their flanks, Gelje Sherpa is one of those mountain men on whom rests the quiet burden of other people's dreams, as well as his own.
A highly accomplished mountaineer and expedition guide, with over forty 8000m summits to his name, Gelje recently stood atop Everest - his tenth summit of the world's highest mountain - with Mitch Hutchcraft, as the culmination of Mitch's Project Limitless. This is a stark and illuminating portrait of Gelje's culture and beliefs, and a gripping account of his exploits and their impact on the shape of modern mountaineering.
Growing up. Growing up in my village was very hard. We lived in a small town called Tapting, home to maybe 20 to 30 families. We were far from any main road so we lived off what we grew, and everyone helped each other out. When I was eight years old my mother passed away. I ran away many times, I didn't go to school, and I found jobs that paid me in food rather than money.
First summit. I climbed my first ever peak, Mera Peak (6400m) at age 13 with my father. It was actually an accident — I wasn't supposed to summit, but I got scared at high camp alone and followed their footsteps with a flask of hot water and biscuits. Eventually I joined the Khumbu Climbing Centre and got all my qualifications. I then became a Khumbu Icefall doctor — the most dangerous job possible on the mountains — for five years.
Becoming a guide. I got scouted to guide on Manaslu, which became my first 8000m peak. I then grew as a guide and got chosen to become the lead fixer on the Project Possible team with Nimsdai, climbing nine 8000m peaks. As soon as I completed Project Possible and developed a platform on social media, everything changed. I started creating my own projects like Cho Oyu Nepal-side, and completing my 14 peaks — it really became a passion.
On being Sherpa. Sherpa is my family and my culture. For me it has never been associated with climbing or being a guide — that's just my job. What I wish more people understood is the important and often overlooked role Sherpas play in every expedition. We do the hard, dangerous, often unrecognised work — carrying heavy loads, setting up high camps, fixing ropes across dangerous ice. Without our constant effort, these expeditions would not be possible.
The rescue. I was at The Balcony (8400m) on Everest with my own clients when I saw a man on his own, shaking in the corner, barely conscious. In that critical moment I realised something very clearly: reaching the summit is never the most important goal — my real goal is always to make sure my client reaches the summit safely and comes back down safely too. My heart simply wouldn't let me walk away and leave someone dying on the mountain. I took the man and, over many long hours, got him down to Camp 4 by a combination of carrying him on my back and dragging him through the snow.
Faith. My faith teaches me that when you do good things and help others, good karma will follow. The core teaching of my religion — compassion and helping others — is exactly why I had to act. It wasn't something I stopped to think about. It came straight from the deepest part of my heart.
Everest with Mitch. Standing on the summit of Everest with Mitch was such a rewarding experience, and our bond grew incredibly strong — something like that of brothers pushing towards a shared goal together. Despite covering 13,000 kilometres with immense hard work, he never appeared tired. That kind of spirit is truly inspiring.
Looking ahead. I am immensely proud to have opened the route on Cho Oyu from the Nepal side in 2024 — not just a personal achievement, but an effort to create new possibilities for the mountaineering community from our own country. My next goal is to commercialise that route so Cho Oyu can be consistently climbed from Nepal.
Gelje is a high-altitude mountaineer and co-founder of expedition company AGA Adventures, which he runs alongside Adriana Brownlee.
Gallery
