Missing During Descent With Client: Was He Left Behind?
The incident began on 29 May 2026, in the middle of Everest’s spring climbing season, when veteran Sherpa guide Dawa Sherpa, working with expeditions team was coming down from the upper mountain with a Polish climber who had already abandoned his summit push due to severe frostbite.
As the descent moved through the tough section between Camp III and Camp IV, things started to split up. The Polish climber pushed ahead with other descending members after needing urgent help, while Dawa was last seen at Yellow Band just above Camp III.
When asked, he reportedly said he was “fine” and would follow. This moment was later echoed by British climber Chris Thrall, who mentioned he had briefly met Dawa on the route. When enquired about his condition, Dawa responded that he was doing fine, so since Chris only had half of the oxygen tank left, he stopped to help the frostbitten Polish climber before continuing down.
Later, Dawa never made it to the lower camps that night. People assumed he would catch up the next day, as experienced Sherpas often do, but by morning, he was still nowhere on the descent route.
By May 31, there was still no immediate large-scale search or rescue operation launched. As the situation unfolded, the entire mountain was already shifting into shutdown mode.
In fact, most teams had already started leaving Everest altogether, some descending on foot, others flying out by helicopter back to base camp and beyond. Fixed ropes were being stripped, and ladders in the Khumbu Icefall were being removed as part of end-of-season cleanup.
And somewhere, Dawa Sherpa was still up there, missing, unaccounted for, and completely alone on the mountain.
Search Operations And Confusion On The Mountain
There was no early search, no clear direction, and no immediate conclusion about what had actually happened to Dawa Sherpa in the days after he went missing.
Later, a coordinated helicopter search was operated on 3 June, which also included a member of Dawa Sherpa’s family. The flight swept through sections of the Khumbu Icefall and surrounding descent routes, but came back with no trace of him at all.
As hope began to fade, frustration grew. Dawa Sherpa’s family reportedly became convinced that the situation involved serious negligence in how the descent and follow-up were handled, with his wife demanding strict action against the ones responsible.
Soon, the Department of Tourism also stepped in to maintain coordination as pressure mounted and questions intensified over how a missing guide on Everest could go unlocated for so long.
Survival In The Death Zone With No Food And No Oxygen Supplement
What followed was nearly unimaginable. Stranded at extreme altitude in Everest’s death zone with no food, no oxygen support, and no immediate rescue team coming for days.
Yet, somehow, Dawa Sherpa began moving downward on his own. Step by step, he crossed sections of the Khumbu Icefall, navigating unstable ice walls, deep crevasses, and even dismantled routes where ladders and fixed supports had already been removed.
During his descent, he later recounted seeing a helicopter on 3 June and reportedly tried to signal with both arms from the icefall terrain, but he was not spotted as the aircraft passed overhead.
Then on the morning of 4 June, after nearly six days lost on the mountain, he was finally found near Crampon Point above Everest Base Camp by a garbage management team from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, crawling through the ice in a severely weakened state but still conscious.
Rescue, Recovery, And The Scars Of Survival: Dawa Sherpa’s Miraculous Return From Everest
When Dawa Sherpa was finally found, he was severely weakened and suffering from frostbite, but otherwise conscious and stable enough to respond.
An emergency helicopter was called in, and he was airlifted from the Gorakshep area before being transferred to HAMS Hospital’s ICU in Kathmandu for urgent medical care. Doctors confirmed altitude-related trauma and frostbite, but stated that his overall condition was stable after evacuation, describing his survival as nothing short of miraculous.
in his village in Okhaldhunga, the situation had already turned heartbreaking. His family had begun funeral rites that same morning, believing he had been lost forever on Everest.
Currently, Dawa is responding to treatment, recovering from severe frostbite, and extreme exhaustion. He is being closely monitored and the recovery progress is positive.
A Season Everest Will Remember
Climbers are already describing the 2026 Everest season as one of the most chaotic of recent years, with summit numbers, late-season risk, rapid evacuation, and stranded personnel during descent.
Dawa Sherpa’s survival now stands out as one of the most extraordinary outcomes of the season, a rare case of endurance in the Khumbu Icefall, where most disappearances do not end in rescue.
