KATHMANDU – In a miraculous turn of events, a Sherpa guide named Dawa Sherpa was discovered crawling toward base camp on Mount Everest a week after he was reported missing. This unexpected rescue brought joy to his family, who had nearly lost hope of his return.
Dawa was last seen on May 29, descending the mountain with a client who successfully reached base camp, while Dawa did not. This incident occurred at the close of the climbing season, as the route was being dismantled.
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He was located by a cleaning crew on Thursday morning, crawling down the snowy slopes around the Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp. Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, which coordinated the search, confirmed the details of his recovery.
Dawa was swiftly transported to safety, provided with food and water, and airlifted to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu. There, his wife and daughter awaited him, having already begun funeral rites in his absence.
“We first heard that he was still alive on the local news and from a person we know who called with the news that … he is being brought down,” said his wife, Damu Sherpa, expressing her relief.
Despite being missing for over a week, the search for Dawa faced delays, and the reasons remain unclear. Initial helicopter searches were unsuccessful in locating him.
His family, including his teenage daughter Mendo Lhamu Sherpa, had almost lost hope, as they were on the second day of a multi-day funeral ritual when the news of his rescue broke.
“When we first heard about it (the rescue), we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father,” Mendo Lhamu recounted. “So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.”
The team that spotted Dawa was part of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, responsible for maintaining the climbing routes and cleaning up after the climbers have departed.
At 52 years old, Dawa Sherpa worked for a small Kathmandu-based company called Himalayan Traverse, guiding a Polish climber during this season. He hails from Okhaldhunga, a town situated south of Everest.
May 2023 marked a historic climbing season on Mount Everest, with over 1,000 climbers and their guides reaching the summit. This season was notably delayed due to a massive ice block that required two weeks to clear before climbers could ascend.
The 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak, known as the highest in the world, was first summited on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, marking a historic achievement in mountaineering.
