Trapped Everest survivor recounts escape

A Nepali mountaineer has recounted his harrowing ordeal after spending three days trapped in a deep crevasse on Mount Everest, surviving on minimal provisions while his family back home began mourning his presumed death.

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I am very happy to be back, I thought I would die there.

Dawa Sherpa, 57, was working as a cook at Camp Two and guiding climbers when he fell behind his group after running out of oxygen. He became stranded, unable to move his limbs. After spending a night in a tent, he descended towards Camp Two but fell into an eight-meter-deep crevasse while crossing the Khumbu icefall. He landed with injuries to his leg and head.

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When my oxygen ran out, I couldn't move my hands or feet. So, I stayed at the rope for about half an hour.

Sherpa sustained himself with biscuits, chocolates, and ice chunks for two days in the crevasse, unable to climb the smooth walls. He described feeling uncertain about survival, hoping for rescue. Miraculously, an avalanche occurred, partially filling the crevasse with snow. This allowed him to claw his way out, using his crampons, and crawl down the mountain with frostbitten fingers and a fractured leg. He eventually made it close to Base Camp, where medics attended to him.

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I slipped and fell from a ladder, and I hung there for a long time.