Everest Guide Dawa Sherpa Survives 6 Days Missing, Crawls to Rescue at 18,000 Feet
Updated
Updated · Fox Weather · Jun 9
Everest Guide Dawa Sherpa Survives 6 Days Missing, Crawls to Rescue at 18,000 Feet
3 articles · Updated · Fox Weather · Jun 9
Summary
A cleanup crew found 52-year-old Dawa Sherpa alive on June 4, crawling through the Khumbu Icefall toward Everest Base Camp after he vanished around May 29.
His ordeal began when his supplemental oxygen ran out while guiding a climber down the mountain, leaving him stranded alone at extreme altitude as the client reached base camp safely.
Without food, water or oxygen, Sherpa survived nearly a week in subfreezing, fast-changing conditions; local reports said he chewed ice, ate forgotten chocolates and endured avalanches and a crevasse fall.
Rescuers gave him food and water, flew him by helicopter to a Kathmandu hospital and treated frostbite; doctors said he was stable and reunited him with family who had begun funeral preparations.
The survival story has also raised questions over Everest rescue efforts, with his family calling for an investigation after he was initially feared dead.