The family of a Nepalese climber who crawled off Mount Everest six days after being abandoned called for an investigation into rescue efforts, as doctors said Friday that he is in stable condition and recovering in hospital.
Mountaineer Dawa Sherpa, 57, disappeared in harsh conditions at the top of the world's highest mountain in the early hours of May 30.
His family thought he was dead and had even begun ritual mourning prayers.
The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a Nepalese team that helps establish routes on Everest and clear leftover debris, found him crawling toward base camp on Thursday morning.
Dawa Sherpa, also known as “Hillary” after famous climber Edmund Hillary, was flown to the capital, Kathmandu, where he is being treated for frostbite to his fingers, a fractured femur and severe dehydration, doctors said.
“His clinical condition remains stable and his dehydration is showing significant improvement,” said Jyotindra Sharma, director of Kathmandu's Hams Hospital.
He said Dawa Sherpa had survived “extremely difficult conditions” on Everest.
“He will remain in the ICU (intensive care unit) for a few more days for continued care and observation,” Sharma said in a statement.
His remarkable survival was greeted with joy by his family, who also said they were angry at what they described as rescuers' failure to locate him sooner.
His wife, Damu Sherpa, said AFP of his joy when they sent him a photograph while he was traveling by plane to the capital.
“I don't remember what it was like this week; we thought he was no more and that he had already begun his last rites,” she said as she waited to join him outside the hospital's intensive care unit.
“I was very surprised when I saw the photos and recognized him: he was still wearing a cap that I knitted for him.”
'Angry'
The ascent was one of the last of the season, so there were few other climbers on the summit.
He accused the expedition company of failing to deploy search teams in time.
“There should be some investigation against the company; they delayed the search and rescue for him,” he said.
Karma Gyalje Sherpa, a relative who is also an Everest guide, questioned whether more action would have been taken sooner if a well-paid foreigner had gotten lost on the icy summit.
“It's a miracle that he survived in that environment, without eating properly for six days,” he said. AFP while waiting in the hospital.
“The situation makes me feel angry,” he said. “We don't know, but if it were a foreigner, maybe the answer would be different?”
Everest guide Rinji Sherpa, from the same village as Dawa Sherpa, said he was a man who knew well the dangers of the mountains and would do everything he could to help his clients.
“He is very loyal to his clients and diligent in making sure he fulfills his responsibility,” he said.
“He is very lucky, he has already been in danger several times, but he has survived.”
At least five people have died this season (two Indians and three Nepalese climbers) on expeditions to Everest.
More than 1,000 climbers reached the summit of Everest this season, according to initial counts by Nepalese officials, making it the busiest ever recorded.
