A Nepali climbing guide, previously feared dead on Mount Everest, has been found alive after crawling his way down to Base Camp six days after he was last seen.
Dawa Sherpa was last sighted above Camp 3, at about 7,500 metres (24,600 feet), as he descended the mountain after reaching the summit.
Given the extreme altitude and thin air, hopes of survival had been extremely low.
However, on Thursday, a cleaning team reportedly discovered the veteran climber slowly making his way down the mountain, suffering frostbite on his hands but still conscious and in stable condition.
“Dawa managed to survive against all odds for days. It’s nothing short of a miracle,” said Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions, which was coordinating search efforts. “This is a true self-rescue.”
He added that the survival was unprecedented at such altitude. “As far as I know, no one has survived alone at that altitude on Everest so far. This is a miracle to have survived for six days alone and descended safe. I think he must have lived inside the tents to keep himself safe,” Pemba Sherpa said.
Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa in reference to famed mountaineer Edmund Hillary, was reportedly “slowly sliding through” the Khumbu Icefall toward Base Camp when rescuers found him.
Medical officials at Kathmandu’s HAMS Hospital confirmed he is receiving treatment and remains in stable condition. “He is awake and undergoing treatment,” said Nishant Dhakal, a doctor in the intensive care unit.
His family also expressed relief after initial fears of his death. “He recognised me … is good and speaks,” his daughter Mhendo Lhamo Sherpa told Reuters after visiting him. “We are happy.”
Before his rescue, his wife had already performed last rites, believing he had died on the mountain.
Earlier, British climber and former Royal Marine Chris Thrall posted a tribute on Instagram, assuming Sherpa had not survived. In his account, Thrall described their descent together from Camp 4.
In the video, Thrall recalled that Dawa Sherpa had “sat down for a rest with his backpack” as they descended from Camp 4, the highest campsite before the summit.
“And I turned and I said, ‘Hillary, are you okay, brother?’ He said, ‘Yes, yes, fine Chris, please go, go!’” Thrall said. “This is nothing new, you know, I’d go ahead, he’d go ahead.”
He added that conditions had forced a prolonged expedition. “It had been a long summit push. What should have been five days to the summit and back took us 11 days, that’s how challenging the conditions were,” Thrall said.
“So, do I go back for Sherpa, who’s probably going to rock up and be fine, as he has done hundreds of times before?” he added.
Concerns had also been raised by relatives over delays in the search effort, with one family member, Kung Sherpa, expressing dissatisfaction in an interview with Outside magazine.
The search operation was eventually launched by 8K Expeditions, which later coordinated efforts that led to Dawa Sherpa being airlifted to safety.
