Left for Dead on Everest: A Sherpa’s Week-Long Fight for Survival
The spring climbing season on Everest ended with a record 1,000 summits and a triumphant story about a Russian paratrooper. But high on the mountain, a darker tale was unfolding—one that has left the mountaineering world questioning the value of a human life.
On May 29, Hillary Dawa, a 57-year-old Sherpa from Okhaldhunga, vanished near the summit. He was part of a three-person team that included a Polish climber and another Sherpa, attempting a late-season push as most commercial camps were packing up. At about 8,000 meters, the Polish climber showed signs of severe frostbite. The group began descending but split up near Camp 3. Dawa fell behind. The others made it safely to base camp. Dawa did not.
The most shocking part? No rescue was launched. Not because of weather, but because the Icefall Doctors had already removed the ladders and ropes across the Khumbu Icefall—standard procedure at season’s end. That decision effectively sealed Dawa’s fate, cutting off his only route down.
For six days, Dawa was alone on Everest, without food or supplemental oxygen. A helicopter search on June 4 found nothing. His family began funeral rites. Everyone had given up.
Then, on June 4, base camp staff saw a man crawling toward the tents. It was Dawa. “I saw the helicopter fly over me. I raised both hands from the icefall, but they didn’t see me,” he said, barely able to speak. He had crossed a deep crevasse without a ladder—a feat rescuers called both terrifying and incredible. He was airlifted to a hospital with a broken hip and frostbitten fingers, but doctors saved his hands. He is recovering faster than expected.
Dawa’s wife, Damu Sherpa, is demanding answers. “The government celebrates record revenue from Everest, but ignored our pleas for help,” she said. “Would they have reacted the same if a foreigner was left up there?”
An investigation revealed another troubling detail: Dawa was hired as a cook for Camp 2, not as a high-altitude guide. The Nepal Mountaineering Association has called for an independent inquiry, citing “serious ethical and humanitarian concerns.”