A Stunning Self‑Rescue on the Roof of the World
A Nepali guide, Dawa Sherpa—affectionately called Hillary Dawa—was missing for six days on Mount Everest. He vanished north of Camp 3 in the Khumbu Icefall on 29 May, and the climbing community feared the worst. A cleaning crew on Thursday, however, spotted him alive, crawling along the ice‑cliff toward Base Camp.
“It’s a true self‑rescue,” said Pemba Sherpa, executive director of 8K Expeditions, which coordinated the search. “Surviving six days alone at that altitude is nothing short of a miracle.”
Dawa had been assisting a Polish climber when he disappeared. The guide had been “slightly sliding through” the Khumbu Icefall toward Base Camp, describes Sherpa, and was found in what was described as overall good health.
The rescue attempt was even more remarkable when considering that no other climber has survived alone at that altitude. Sherpa speculates Dawa might have lived in a tent to conserve energy. His wife, meanwhile, had given his soul prayers last rite while the world waited.
The accident comes amid a busy climbing season where over 1,000 climbers reached Everest's summit this year, and five people have already died, three of whom were local staff, according to AFP.
