While ascending Everest, Inglis and a party of 18 other climbers came upon distressed British climber David Sharp, but continued pushing towards the summit. Sharp subsequently died. Inglis has been criticised for this decision by many people including Sir Edmund Hillary, who said he should have abandoned any attempt at the summit to help a fellow climber. Inglis has dismissed the criticism by saying that the decision was actually made by expedition leader Russell Brice, who was at the base camp. He also stated that the trouble is at 8,500 metres it's extremely difficult to keep yourself alive, let alone anyone else alive. Some other climbers have agreed with this assessment, claiming there is little that can be done for a seriously ill person that close to the summit. However, Phil Ainslie, a mountaineer and scientist at the University of Otago, has said that it might have been possible to revive Sharp with bottled oxygen and get him to safety.