Missing Sherpa guide found alive on Everest after funeral rites had begun

A Nepali Sherpa guide, presumed dead on Mount Everest, has been found alive and is recovering after a week-long ordeal. Hillary Dawa Sherpa, 52, was discovered crawling towards base camp, suffering from frostbite but otherwise in good health.

“

We first heard that he was still alive on the local news.

Sherpa was last seen on May 29 in the "death zone" of the world's highest mountain, an area with insufficient oxygen for survival. A helicopter rescue attempt had failed to locate him. However, a climbing support team found him on Thursday morning near the Khumbu icefall, just above base camp.

His survival is being hailed as miraculous by Nepal's mountaineering community. "This is nothing short of a miracle surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh conditions," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, a leading figure. He added, "Sherpas are built tough growing up in the mountains. If there was someone else in his place they might not have survived."

“

When we first heard about it [the rescue], we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father. So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.

Sherpa's wife and daughter had already begun funeral rituals when they received news of his rescue. "When we first heard about it [the rescue], we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father," said his daughter, Mendo Lhamu Sherpa. "So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy."

“

This is nothing short of a miracle surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh conditions.

Sherpa was guiding a Polish climber for Himalayan Traverse, a Kathmandu-based company. He was last seen at the Yellow Band, above Camp 3, at an altitude of 7,200 meters (23,622 ft). The base camp is situated at 5,300 meters.

“

Sherpas are built tough growing up in the mountains. If there was someone else in his place they might not have survived.