Everest Cook Hillary Dawa Sherpa Survives 6 Days Missing at 7,500m, Exposing Cheap Expedition Risks
Updated
Updated · Inkl · Jun 19
Everest Cook Hillary Dawa Sherpa Survives 6 Days Missing at 7,500m, Exposing Cheap Expedition Risks
3 articles · Updated · Inkl · Jun 19
Summary
Mountain cleaners found 52-year-old Hillary Dawa Sherpa alive at Everest Base Camp after he vanished for six days above Camp Three, where he had been left behind after running out of oxygen while guiding clients.
Ice and chocolates kept him alive as he crawled down from about 7,500 meters; his family had already begun funeral rites when word came that he had survived.
Guy Cotter, a veteran Everest guide, said such cases are not rare and blamed a race to the bottom among under-resourced Nepali operators selling cheap expeditions with too few Sherpa support staff.
Nepalese authorities are investigating the incident, though Cotter said similar failures have persisted for decades despite safer forecasting, better communications and more than 1,000 summits in the 2026 season.