A Nepalese Sherpa miraculously survived for nearly a week after going missing on May 29. The missing man was found near Everest base camp.
Paramedics work to transport Dawa Sherpa by helicopter to hospital in KathmanduImage: Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS
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In a remarkable tale of survival, a Sherpa guide in Nepal was found alive on Mount Everest on Thursday, after being missing for nearly a week.
While some of the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear, hiking officials said he managed to survive without food or oxygen in extremely dangerous conditions.
Dawa Sherpa was missing for six days and was believed dead before being found aliveImage: Prabin Ranabhat/AFP
What is known about Sherpa's disappearance and rescue
Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa, is a man in his fifties who was last seen near Camp III on May 29.
He had been returning with a Polish climber after failing to make it to the 8,849 m (29,032 ft) summit of the world's highest peak.
He is understood to have gone missing somewhere between Camp III and Camp IV with it being unclear how the pair became separated.
Lama Kazi Sherpa, from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, said Dawa was located by his team above base camp near the trecherous Khumbu Icefall.
They managed to bring him down safely.
Khimlal Gautam, chief of the Department of Tourism's Everest base camp office, told the German news agency dpa that news of Dawa Sherpa's disappearance was received on May 30.
"We carried out an aerial search yesterday right up to the base camp but couldn't spot him," Gautam told dpa.
"It is a great relief and good news that he showed up himself," Gautam said.
Dawa Sherpa managed to navigate the treacherous Khumbu Icefall as he made his way alone down the mountain [FILE: May 2026]Image: Pasang Rinzee Sherpa/AP Photo/picture alliance
Paperwork complications delayed rescue
According to Gautam, rescue efforts were delayed due to complications surrounding the expedition's paperwork.
Dawa Sherpa "had taken a permit through one company but was climbing with another company. That created complications in the rescue process itself because rescues are expensive operations,” he said.
"Dawa survived alone for nearly a week without food, water, or supplemental oxygen navigating the treacherous Khumbu Icefall (even after the fixed ladders were removed for the season)," the Nepal Mount Everest hiking company said in a social media post.
The first expeditions arrived at base camp back in April. At 5,300 meters (about 17,400 feet), climbers and Nepalese guides are battling the cold, wind and thin air. This year, there is an additional threat: a towering block of ice — known as a serac — blocked the path through the Khumbu Icefall. Although the route is now open, the situation remains extremely precarious.
For more than two weeks, the route to the summit was blocked by the towering block of ice in the Khumbu Icefall that threatened to collapse. The Khumbu Icefall is already considered one of the most dangerous sections of the Everest route. Huge crevasses, shifting glaciers and ice walls as tall as houses make every step a risk.
As the weather improves in the spring, the climbing season on Everest begins. The world's highest mountain attracts people from all over the world. Nepal has issued nearly 500 permits for this season — more than ever before. For Nepal, climbers are a major source of revenue.
For many climbers, however, the dream of reaching the highest point on Earth outweighs the increased travel costs resulting from the Iran war and the high permit fees, which now stand at $15,000 (some €13,000). The number of climbers aiming to scale the 8,849-meter-high Mount Everest is matched almost exactly by the number of Nepalese guides who accompany them.
Mountain guides are often members of the Sherpa ethnic group, who are native to Nepal. They prepare the route, carry equipment through the ice fields and secure ladders over deep crevasses. Without them, an ascent would be virtually impossible.
Mount Everest lies between Nepal and China. However, China has closed its northern route this year. As a result, all expeditions are crowding onto the Nepalese southern route. There, hundreds of tents, fluttering prayer flags and long lines of climbers await the decisive ascent.
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