A Nepali guide who was presumed dead on Mount Everest has been found alive, crawling towards base camp almost a week after he went missing and after his funeral rites had already commenced. Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa, was last seen on 29 May but failed to return to base camp with other climbing groups.
A fellow climber reported seeing him near the 'death zone', the area above 8,000 metres where oxygen levels are insufficient for human survival. Despite a helicopter search failing to locate the 52-year-old, a climbing support team from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee found him on Thursday morning as he crawled down the snowy slopes near the Khumbu icefall, just above base camp.
Dawa Sherpa had frostbite on his hands but appeared otherwise in good health. He was quickly carried to safety, given food and water, and later flown by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu, where his wife and daughter were waiting. They had already begun funeral rituals, which traditionally last several days.
His wife, Damu Sherpa, said they first heard he was alive on local news. His teenage daughter, Mendo Lhamu Sherpa, added: 'When we first heard about it, we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father. So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.'
Dawa Sherpa was last seen at a spot called Yellow Band above camp 3, at 7,200 metres. He works for Himalayan Traverse, a small Kathmandu-based company, and was guiding a Polish climber. British climber Chris Thrall, who had posted a video tribute believing Dawa had died, recounted telling him to go ahead while he helped the Polish client, who had no oxygen and frostbite.
Nepal's mountaineering community has hailed Dawa's survival as miraculous. Ang Tshering Sherpa, a leading figure, said: 'This is nothing short of a miracle surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh conditions. Sherpas are built tough growing up in the mountains.'
