Dawa Sherpa, a 57-year-old guide, was presumed dead after he was last seen alive on Everest; his family in Kathmandu had begun performing last rites before he was spotted by a cleanup team sliding down the mountain towards Base Camp.

Forced to Stay Behind

Dawa Sherpa explained that he did not ‘go missing’ but was forced to ‘stay behind’ after his oxygen ran out; the Nepali guide had to endure extreme conditions as he made his way down the mountain.

Climber Chris Thrall, a former British soldier, was the last person to see Dawa Sherpa alive before his rescue. Thrall described how Dawa was sitting on his backpack just above Camp 3, around 7,500m, as he had done hundreds of times before to take a short rest.

Chewing Ice and Chocolate

Thrall continued to descend alone for about 50-100m before encountering another climber with severe frostbite. As he helped the Polish climber descend, Dawa Sherpa did not appear to have moved.

Trapped in a crevasse, Dawa Sherpa told the BBC that he had found himself in trouble when his oxygen ran out. He explained that he could not walk and did not eat anything for the first two days. Then he began chewing ice, which pained his teeth.

He discovered some chocolates in his pocket and managed to get some melted ice to drink. His slow descent was interrupted when he fell into a crevasse, where he remained trapped for two-and-a-half days.

An avalanche sent snow tumbling into the crevasse, giving him the first hope he had in days. He stepped on the snow, stood up, and looked above, feeling he could get out. Once he scrambled out, he found ropes nearby which helped him move further down the mountain.

Rescue and Recovery

Another avalanche threatened his progress, but he was determined to keep going. He moved downwards throughout the night and eventually came close to the base camp, where he was met by cleanup team members who carried him down.

News of his survival was met with shock and delight by the wider Sherpa community, the climbers he had been with, and his family. Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions overseeing the search efforts, called it a ‘true self-rescue.’

‘Dawa managed to survive against all odds for days. It’s nothing short of a miracle,’ he said. Thrall, upon seeing news of Dawa’s survival, thought it was ‘spam’ at first.

Dawa’s wife, Damu Sherpa, told AFP she had given up hope until seeing a picture of her husband. ‘We thought he was no more, and had already begun his last rites,’ she said as she waited to meet him at the hospital.

Doctors at Kathmandu’s HAMS Hospital stated Dawa Sherpa has been ‘receiving broad medical care in the intensive care unit,’ but is stable and his ‘dehydration is showing significant improvement.’

More than 1,000 climbers have summited Everest this season, making it the busiest on record. Five people have died during this year’s climbing season, with more than 300 dying since records began in the 1920s.