A Sherpa mountain guide who vanished on Mount Everest a week ago has been found alive, crawling back to base camp just as his family had begun funeral rituals. Dawa Sherpa, 52, disappeared on May 29 while descending the mountain with a Polish client, who returned safely.
He was discovered on Thursday morning by a cleaning crew near the Khumbu Icefall, slowly sliding down the snowy slopes above base camp. Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, which coordinated the search, said Dawa had frostbite on his hands but appeared in good health.
Dawa's family had given up hope. His teenage daughter, Mendo Lhamu Sherpa, said they were on the second day of a multi-day funeral ritual when they heard the news. “When we first heard about it, we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father,” she said. “So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.”
Dawa was carried to camp, given food and water, and flown to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu to be reunited with his family. He had been guiding a Polish climber for Himalayan Traverse when he went missing, last seen at Yellow Band above Camp 3 at 7,200 metres. He travelled roughly 1,900 metres to safety at base camp.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, a leading figure in Nepal's mountaineering community, called it “nothing short of a miracle”. He added: “Sherpas are built tough growing up in the mountains. If there was someone else in his place they might not have survived.”
