Nepali Cook Survives Three Days in Everest Crevasse After Avalanche Fills Gap

Dawa Sherpa, 57, spent three days inside a 25-foot-deep crevasse on Mount Everest before an avalanche filled the gap with snow and allowed him to crawl out. He survived on biscuits, chocolates, dried coffee, and chunks of ice while trapped. Sherpa gave his first full account of the incident in an interview with AFP on June 18, 2026, while recovering in an apartment in Kathmandu with his family.

He said he had collapsed on May 29 and spent a full week alone on the mountain. Sherpa reached the Balcony at approximately 27,559 feet on May 28 before descending to Camp Four with Chris Thrall, Mariusz Chmielewski, and Pasang Kaji Sherpa. Chris Thrall was the last person to see him, at approximately 26,000 feet.

Sherpa said he ran out of oxygen, stayed at the rope for about half an hour, then continued alone. He ate noodles at a tent, regained consciousness, and descended to Camp Three at approximately 23,000 feet, where he spent one night in howling gales and cooked porridge. Sherpa had a satellite phone that did not work and a walkie-talkie whose batteries died.

He reached Camp Two alone after the rest of the team had left. While carrying a 62-pound bag containing eight empty oxygen cylinders and client sleeping bags, Sherpa fell into the crevasse in the Khumbu icefall. He hung from a ladder for a long time before falling, injuring his leg and hitting his head.

A helicopter flew overhead on June 3 but did not spot him inside the crevasse. He spent two nights there with smooth walls that prevented escape. After the avalanche filled the crevasse, Sherpa crawled out over about one hour.

He followed a rope and crawled down close to Base Camp. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee found him on the morning of June 4. Sherpa was airlifted to Kathmandu and treated for frostbite, severe dehydration, and a fractured thigh bone.