Nepali Climber Found Alive After Six Days Missing on Everest
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Nepali climbing guide Hillary Dawa Sherpa, missing for six days on Mount Everest, was found alive near Base Camp.
- He was discovered by a cleanup team and is being transported to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
- The climbing season has been challenging, with at least five deaths reported, but over a thousand climbers have reached the summit, marking a record season.
A Nepali climbing guide, Hillary Dawa Sherpa, who had been missing on Mount Everest for six days and was presumed dead, has been found alive. Officials reported that Sherpa was discovered on Thursday morning near Base Camp by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a Nepali team responsible for maintaining routes and managing waste on the mountain.
He was crawling down.
Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, overseeing the search and rescue efforts, told AFP that Sherpa was found crawling down the mountain and a helicopter was dispatched to take him to a hospital in Kathmandu. Climber Chris Thrall, who had summited Everest with Sherpa on May 29, had posted a video message expressing his belief that Sherpa, whom he described as a "true 'tiger of the mountains'," had perished.
A helicopter has been sent to bring him to a hospital in Kathmandu.
Thrall recounted the events of May 30, when he began his descent from Camp Four. Sherpa had stopped to rest, and when Thrall checked on him, Sherpa assured him he was fine and urged him to proceed. Thrall then encountered a Polish climber struggling with oxygen deprivation and frostbite. He explained that the challenging conditions had extended the summit push to 11 days instead of the usual five, forcing him to prioritize assisting the fellow climber over returning for Sherpa, whom he assumed would eventually make his way down.
He called Sherpa an 'absolute gentle giant of a man and a true 'tiger of the mountains'.
Search teams had been looking for Sherpa since he disappeared. The current climbing season is nearing its end, with fewer mountaineers on the peak. This season has seen at least five fatalities, including two Indian and three Nepali climbers during preparations. Despite the dangers, over a thousand climbers have successfully reached the summit of Everest, according to initial tallies by Nepali officials, making it the busiest season on record.
Yes, yes, fine Chris, please go, go! This is nothing new, you know, I'd go ahead, he'd go ahead.
Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.