A Miracle on the Roof of the World

Nepalese mountain guide Dawa Sherpa has survived a harrowing six-day ordeal on Mount Everest after his oxygen supply ran out during descent. Found crawling toward base camp by a cleanup crew, the 57-year-old Sherpa insisted he was not lost but forced to lag behind due to exhaustion and lack of air. His family in Kathmandu had already begun mourning rituals when he was spotted sliding down the ice near the Khumbu Glacier.

Sherpa was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu, where he spoke to BBC Nepal while receiving treatment for dehydration, severe frostbite, and broken bones. "I didn't think I would stay alive," he said on Friday. "I thought I would die that way."

British climber Chris Throl was the last person to see Sherpa alive before his rescue. Throl, a former British soldier, recalled seeing the veteran guide sitting on his pack above Camp 3, at approximately 7,500 meters, taking a customary rest break. Throl continued descending alone for another 50 to 100 meters before encountering another member of their group—a Polish climber without oxygen and suffering serious frostbite.

"My attention immediately shifted to the weakest member of the trio. And that was it," Throl told BBC's Newshour. "While helping that man descend, I looked back up the mountain. Hillary Dawa did not appear to have moved, and certainly wasn't descending, because we would have seen his lamp light."

Trapped in the Ice

Sherpa explained that his crisis began when his oxygen tank emptied. "When the oxygen ran out, I couldn't walk," he said. For the first two days, he ate nothing. He then began chewing ice to stay hydrated, despite the pain it caused his teeth.

He eventually found a few chocolate bars in his pocket and managed to melt small amounts of ice to drink. Slowly, he continued his descent but fell into a deep crevasse. Trapped for two and a half days, he was unable to find an exit until an avalanche dumped snow into the crack, providing a makeshift ramp.

"I stood on the snow, straightened up, and looked up... I felt I could get out of there," Sherpa told the BBC. After escaping, he found ropes that helped him continue his slide down the world's highest peak. Another avalanche threatened his progress, but he refused to give up, walking through the snow all night until he reached the vicinity of base camp.

There, he finally saw humans for the first time in nearly a week. "These were guys going to collect trash. I met them. They carried me down," he recalled.

A Community Rejoices

News of Sherpa's survival sent waves of shock and joy through the Sherpa community, fellow climbers, and his family. Five people have died on Everest this season, and over 300 have perished on the mountain since records began in the 1920s.

Pemba Sherpa, CEO of 8K Expeditions, which coordinated the search, called the feat "a true self-rescue." "Dawa managed to survive days against all odds. It is a real miracle," he said.

Chris Throl admitted he initially thought reports of Sherpa's survival were fake news. "It is incredible. One moment you are barely holding back tears with his daughter, and the next you watch him crawl to the village," Throl said. "That is absolutely incredible."

His wife, Damu Sherpa, told AFP she had lost all hope until she saw the photograph of him being carried to safety.