The guy who rescued the woman paid the rescue fee for her

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Fan Jiangtao and Xie Ruxiang from southern China’s Hunan province were just 1,000 feet from the summit on May 18 when they made the tough call to abandon their climb to rescue another climber.

Fan and his sherpa stumbled across an unconscious woman while painfully close to the peak of the world’s highest mountain.

It is neither uncommon or frowned upon among Everest mountaineers for climbers to prioritize reaching the summit instead of assisting others.

In fact, rescuing or aiding others above 5 miles is considered extremely dangerous for the rescuer and is usually discouraged.

According to Fan, leader of the Hunan mountaineering team, she was out of oxygen, uncontrollably shivering, and had lost a glove, leaving her hand blackened by frostbite.

According to the South China Morning Post, Fan said his goal shifted from reaching the summit to saving a life.

“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.

After a grueling four hours, the pair and their sherpas eventually got the woman to Camp 4 below the “death zone”, and she has reportedly recovered since.

Later, it was revealed Fan even helped pay the woman’s $10,000 rescue fee from Camp 4.

Fan said reaching the summit of Everest was his “life’s dream”, but he remains content with his decision.

“Although we didn’t reach the summit, saving a person’s life is far more valuable than reaching the peak,” he said.

Xie added: “Ascending to the top of Everest is our dream, but it can’t be compared with life.”

Twelve people have died on the mountain this year, and five are still missing, presumed dead.