When Dawa Sherpa's family in Nepal learned he had gone missing on Everest, they did what families do when there is no longer any hope. They began the funeral rites.
They were wrong.
On Thursday June 4, six days after he was last seen, the 52-year-old Nepali sherpa was found alive near Everest's southern base camp — crawling down the mountain on his hands and knees, severely frostbitten, dehydrated, and with a broken bone. But alive.
Dawa had been guiding a Polish climber toward the summit on May 29 when he ran out of oxygen somewhere between Camp 3 and Camp 4 — both above 7,000 meters. He was forced to stop. The last person to see him was British mountaineer Chris Thrall, who found him sitting and resting, apparently fine. Thrall then turned his attention to the Polish climber, who had also run out of oxygen and was showing early signs of frostbite, assuming the far more experienced Nepali guide would make his way down independently.
He didn't. Not for nearly a week.
Speaking to the BBC, Dawa said he hadn't expected to survive. For the first two days he ate nothing at all. After that, he chewed ice and survived on a few pieces of chocolate he found in his pocket. At some point he fell into a crevasse — and managed to climb out.
He was eventually found almost by accident, by a team that had gone up to collect rubbish left behind by climbing expeditions. He was airlifted to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu, where he is being treated for dehydration, frostbite, and a bone fracture.
Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions — which had overseen the search — called his survival "nothing short of a miracle." Six people have already died on Everest this climbing season.
Dawa's family has accused his employer of failing to launch search efforts quickly enough and, according to the New York Times, has filed a formal complaint with police.
Meanwhile, six people have already died on Everest this season attempting to reach the summit — a reminder that the mountain rarely offers second chances.
Dawa Sherpa used his.
