Overview
- Rescue and route crews from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee and 8K Expeditions spotted Hillary Dawa Sherpa crawling toward Everest Base Camp and a helicopter flew him to Kathmandu on Thursday for ICU care at Hospital HAMS.
- Doctors say he is conscious and being treated for frostbite, cold injuries, dehydration and trauma, and his life is not believed to be in immediate danger.
- Dawa reached the summit with a client on May 29 and became separated during the descent after stopping to rest; a companion stopped to help a climber without oxygen, a delay that stretched a normally two-hour section into 11 hours and may have contributed to the separation.
- His family had begun traditional funeral puja before his recovery, underscoring the personal stakes for Nepali guides whose work supports their households and communities.
- The 2026 Everest season saw more than 1,000 summits and multiple deaths, and the incident has reawakened calls for clearer safety rules, better rescue coordination and stronger protections for local route crews and guides.