Gau Ming-Ho

Gau Ming-Ho was a leader of a Taiwanese expedition to Mount Everest during the 1996 Everest Disaster. On May 10, 1996, he reached the summit of Everest alongside the members of the Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants expeditions. Like many climbers that day, Gau reached the summit an hour after the planned 2 pm turn around time and was caught in the blizzard that eventually claimed the lives of 8 other climbers. Suffering from exhaustion and with his oxygen supply depleted, Gau was unable to continue down the mountain, and was left in a bivouac with Lopsang Sherpa and Mountain Madness Expedition leader Scott Fischer, who was also in physical distress. Lopsang eventually descended on his own to find help, leaving Gau and Fischer lying a few yards apart from each other. Sherpas found the two men the next day, but Fischer was too far gone to save, so they concentrated on rescuing Gau, managing to bring him back to Camp IV. Fischer eventually died on the mountain; his body was found by his climbing partner Anatoli Boukreev, and remains on Everest to this day.

Gau and Adventure Consultants climber Beck Weathers, who had also survived a night of exposure on the mountain, were escorted down to Camp II with the help of other expedition teams, and both men were evacuated in one of the highest altitude helicopter rescues on Everest. Weathers gave up his seat so Gau could be evacuated first. Gau spent over 10 months in the hospital and lost his arms from above the elbow, feet and nose.