A Sherpa guide who was missing for nearly a week on Mount Everest has been found alive, crawling toward base camp after surviving without food, water, or supplemental oxygen. Dawa Sherpa, age 52, disappeared around Wednesday (May 29) as he descended from the summit with his client, but did not arrive at base camp even though the climber did. Dawa was last seen above Camp 3 at about 24,600 feet.
Rescuers lost hope as days passed, and Dawa’s family had begun funeral rituals, believing he had perished. His daughter, Mhendo Lhamo Sherpa, told Reuters, “He recognised me … is good and speaks. We are happy,” after visiting him at Kathmandu’s HAMS Hospital, where he is awake and being treated for frostbite and other complications. His wife confirmed they had already offered last rite prayers for his soul before the rescue.
Dawa was located Thursday (June 4) by a cleaning crew from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, who found him crawling through the hazardous Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp. After being carried to safety, he was airlifted to Kathmandu for medical care.
It is unclear how Dawa got separated from the climber he was helping, but both were among the final climbers of the season, which ended last month after a record 1,000 people summited Everest. The rescue was described as “nothing short of a miracle” and “a true self-rescue,” according to People.
The 2026 Everest season has been the busiest ever, but it has also brought risks—at least five climbers and guides have died, three of them Nepalis. Dawa’s survival has been hailed by Nepal’s mountaineering community as extraordinary, as few, if any, have survived alone at such altitude and in such harsh conditions. As Dawa recovers, his case highlights both the dangers faced by mountain guides and the resilience required to survive Everest.
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