After six days missing on Everest, Dawa Sherpa was found miles from where he was last seen. Photo: Temba Tsheri Sherpa//Facebook
A tale of what some are calling one of the great Everest survival stories ever unfolded today on the world’s highest peak. Dawa Sherpa, known as Hillary Dawa, appeared at the base of the mountain’s Khumbu icefall six days after he went missing high up on the mountain.
The 52-year-old climbing guide was last seen alive on May 29 descending to Camp 3 at an altitude of around 24,600 feet. He became separated from his group and was declared missing.
According to the Tourism Times, no search-and-rescue operations were conducted during the first six days he was missing, but an aerial search was eventually carried out.
Miraculously, on June 4, crews moving up the mountain to clean up found Dawa at the base of the Khumbu Icefall, a treacherous glacier between Everest basecamp and Camp 1. Dawa had crawled between three and four miles, descending more than 5,000 feet over six days.
“Yesterday, I saw a helicopter flying over me. I raised my both hands twice from the icefall section, but they didn’t notice me,” Dawa said.
It’s unclear how he survived or how he navigated the icefalls after most of the ropes and ladders had been removed. Everest journalist Alan Arnette said that Dawa fell into a crevasse near Camp 1, was stuck for two days, and climbed out on his own.
According to Everest Live, crews removing the ladders in the icefall went against protocol and left a key bridge in place in case Dawa was still alive. Without it, he likely would have never been found. They called it “one of the greatest survival stories of all time.” His funeral had been scheduled to take place today.
Dawa has been airlifted to Kathmandu, but is reportedly in relatively good health, conscious and able to speak. He suffered frostbite to his hands.
“As far as I know, no one has survived alone at that altitude on Everest so far,” Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions, which was conducting the search effort, told BBC. “This is a miracle to have survived for six days alone and descended safe. I think he must have lived inside the tents to keep himself safe.”
The entire incident raises a lot of questions highlighted in Everest Live’s report, such as why there was no rescue attempt, why the group’s summit attempt took so long, and why Dawa, reportedly a camp cook, was high up on the mountain without proper training.
