Overview
- Dawa 'Hillary' Sherpa went missing during descent around May 29 after guiding a Polish climber and was presumed dead when he did not return to lower camps.
- A Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee cleanup team spotted him crawling near the Khumbu Icefall close to Everest Base Camp on Thursday, June 4, and he was flown by helicopter to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu.
- Doctors said he is conscious in intensive care and being treated for frostbite, dehydration and other cold-related injuries after surviving nearly a week without food, water or supplemental oxygen.
- Officials said rescue coordination was delayed because he held a permit with one company but was climbing with another, a paperwork dispute that complicated costs, insurance and authorization for an early search; helicopters earlier failed to locate him.
- The case comes at the end of one of Everest’s busiest seasons, when Nepali authorities issued 494 permits and more than 1,000 climbers summited, renewing calls to limit permits and improve protections for Sherpa guides.