Everest Sherpa Left for Dead Shares Secret to Their Survival

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When Dawa Sherpa appeared seemingly out of nowhere six days after he was last seen descending Mount Everest, it was a true miracle. The Sherpa told BBC Nepali that he didn’t get lost; rather, he ran out of oxygen and had to stop. A rescue crew airlifted him to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment of dehydration, frostbite, and a fractured bone.

“I didn’t think I would be alive,” Dawa Sherpa told the BBC Nepali. “I thought I would perish this way.”

Dawa Sherpa Survived on Extremely Minimal Rations

Dawa Sherpa told BBC Nepali that he did not eat for the first two days, but began chewing ice on the third day. He also recalled ifnising chocolates in his pockets that kept him alive.

“As the oxygen ran out, I couldn’t walk,” he explained.

But he continued his descent slowly, but surely, sliding down the mountain. Avalanches threatened to kill him more than once, but somehow he persevered.

“I got through the snow and moved downwards. I walked throughout that night,” he recalled. “Then, I came close to the base camp.”

Climber Chris Thrall was the last person to see Dawa Sherpa alive. When he heard the news he’d survived, it truly shocked him.

“It’s kind of crazy one minute to be fighting back tears with his daughter, and then the next minute to see him crawling into town,” he said. “It’s absolutely amazing, beyond words.”

Dawa Sherpa’s wife, Damu Sherpa, truly believed he’d perished.

“When I saw him for the first time, I was so surprised. I was in huge tension after we were told that he would never return home. I can’t believe how he came back alive. I couldn’t believe my eyes about how he returned safely,” she said. “I wonder about how long he remained alive without food and supplies… I can’t understand how my husband ate and drank in such a height. I hope no-one will have to face this fate.”

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