Nepali Guide Found Alive After Six Days Missing on Everest

A Nepali climbing guide who vanished on Mount Everest last week was found alive Thursday morning after crawling alone nearly to Base Camp. The 52-year-old guide had been descending with a Polish climber after turning back short of the 8,849-metre summit. He went missing between Camp III and Camp IV, which sits at roughly 8,000 metres in the death zone.

An organising team found the guide close to Base Camp, crawling down with some frostbite but otherwise in good health, Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions told AFP. The guide was taken by helicopter to hospital for treatment of frostbite and other complications.

Family members said the guide recognised relatives and was speaking. His wife told reporters the family was very happy after having begun last-rite prayers when he was presumed dead.

The guide was last seen on 30 May when he stopped to rest during the descent from Camp IV. The Polish climber accompanying him had run out of bottled oxygen and suffered frostbite. A British climber who reached the summit with the guide on 29 May shared his remaining oxygen with the Pole and continued down.

Search teams searched the route but found no sign of the guide until cleaners spotted him crawling toward Base Camp six days later.

More than 1,000 climbers and guides received permits this season, which ended at the close of May. At least five climbers died during the season, including two Indians and three Nepalis. A relative told Outside magazine the family was frustrated that the employer had not launched a prompt rescue because insurance procedures had not been completed.