Mount Everest Scenarios Are NOT Real — Videos Of Wise Sherpas, Demanding CEOs, Rich Executives, And Sisters Left For Dead All Show AI Generated Stereotypes

Does a real video show a rich executive trying to override a sherpa’s decision to wait by paying him to keep going to the Everest summit? No, that’s not true: A TikTok account has been posting AI-generated videos of stereotypical Everest scenarios. Some videos, one showing a motorized escalator to the summit, are clearly parody, while other fake videos posted without a disclaimer or watermark, are realistic enough to be believable when viewed in isolation.

One video (archived here) was published on TikTok by @freddy.nietzsche on Oct. 31, 2025. The post had no caption or hashtags, but was tagged for the location “Mount Everest · Alicante,” not the world’s highest mountain, but an Indian restaurant in Spain.

This is a screenshot of the TikTok video:

In the brief clip, the sherpa and the climber say:

Sherpa: Take it back, I don’t want your hundred thousand.

Climber: Wait, we had a deal.

Sherpa: It’s not worth dying for. Listen to me, no amount of money is! You can climb if you want, but I go down. Everest will still be here. Take your money back.

The sherpa is holding several bills of folded cash, 100K, in his gloved hand. The climber, also wearing gloves, takes some of the bills back. But this action reveals an AI glitch: the climber’s glove touches the outside of the billfold, but only the bills from the center of the fold follow the movement of his hand. In the composite image below (top left) the illegible numbers in the corners of the bills are not oriented on the lengthwise axis as is standard in U.S. currency.

More examples of AI glitches in videos from @freddy.nietzsche are highlighted in the composite image above. The embroidered brand logos (top and bottom right) on the climbers’ gear (here and here) is illegible and contains mangled characters. In another video, the blue reflective sunglasses hanging from the climber’s jacket (bottom left) have the two lenses but lack a gap for his nose.

Some of the videos contain elements of extreme Himalayan mountaineering, such as climbing ropes, and colorful Buddhist prayer flags, but they are intermixed with absurdities (pictured below) like large animals summiting; a giraffe, an elephant, and a lion.

Many videos feature American or western men, executives and CEOs portrayed as rich, powerful, egotistical and sometimes screaming. They try to boss a sherpa to comply with their wishes regardless of the danger this poses to both of them. In most cases the sherpas seem kind and level headed, and respond to the confrontation with folk wisdom sayings like, “The mountain runs on Nepal time sir.” and “Summit is nothing if you don’t come back.”

A recurring theme in other videos is an almost identical tale; six different women, each explaining that her sister died before reaching the top, but she finds the achievement of summiting and the view from the mountaintop was worth it. Six versions of this story are transcribed below, paired with the images left to right.

• My sister broke her leg 300 meters from the summit and we had to leave her. It was brutal but once I saw this view it was all worth it. I will never forget her. (here)

• We lost my sister about 300 meters from the summit. She broke her leg and unfortunately she did not make it. I knew she would have wanted me to keep going so I did. Her memory will always be with me, here at the top of the world. (here)

• When my sister and I set off to climb Everest we knew there was a very good chance one of us would not make it. We were right. The views were totally incredible though. (here)

• My sister pleaded with me not to leave her behind just 300 meters short of the summit. But honestly, you know what hurts more than leaving family? Missing a perfectly lit sunrise TikTok. (here)

• People ask me if it was worth it that my sister did not make it on Everest. I made the summit despite losing her. I know she would be proud. (here)

• I just faced a difficult decision. Make the summit or save my sister? Now standing up here, looking at this incredible view, I can tell you I absolutely made the right decision. (here)