[4] During his career, Lopsang had worked as a climber and guide for both Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two expedition leaders who ultimately died on Everest in the course of the 10 May 1996 tragedy.
Journalist Jon Krakauer, on assignment from Outside magazine, was a member of one of the affected expeditions, and afterwards published the bestseller Into Thin Air, which related his experience.
Anatoli Boukreev, a guide for Fischer's expedition whose actions were criticized somewhat by Krakauer, co-authored a rebuttal book called The Climb.
Prior to the summit assault on 10 May, he had carried an especially large load of equipment, including "30 pounds of other member's personal gear", and that at times he had closely assisted Sandy Pittman (a journalist member of the expedition reporting for NBC by email dispatches sent via satellite telephone and computer), using a "short rope" technique.
Fischer and Lopsang started their descent in bad weather, as Rob Hall and Doug Hansen ascended toward the summit.
Lopsang reported that after ensuring that Hall and Hansen had safely summited and started their descent, he quickly descended to reach Fischer, apparently then in some difficulty.
[6] Gau ultimately was rescued by other Sherpas; Fischer showing signs of hypothermia with no mittens on or coat zipped apparently moved no further before he died high on Everest.
Lopsang's uncle, Ngawang Topche Sherpa, also working on the 1996 Mountain Madness expedition, fell ill and was evacuated by helicopter from Everest just prior to the fateful summit bid, suffering from a severe case of high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and tuberculosis complication.