KATHMANDU: Dawa Sherpa, the 57-year-old Nepali climber who went missing on Everest's upper slopes, has been discharged from a Kathmandu hospital this evening.

Dawa was airlifted to HAMS Hospital a week ago after he spent nearly a week alone in the Everest death zone. His story, first published by The Tourism Times on May 31 (the day he was reported missing by his expedition agency) and again on June 4 (when he was discovered near Crampon Point), has gripped the mountaineering community around the world.

Dawa, popularly known as 'Hillary Dawa', a resident of Khijidemba, Okhaldhunga, was in the general ward of HAMS Hospital for the last three days, cared for by his wife Damu and daughter Mendo Lhamu among a few other relatives. After nearly five days in the ICU, hospital authorities say he was transferred to the general ward, recovered well, and was discharged from HAMS at around 8:00 pm on June 11. However, doctors have advised him not to walk for three to six weeks due to a fractured right leg, which he sustained when he fell into a deep crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall on June 2. The fingers on his right hand are also frostbitten.

Dawa's ordeal began on the evening of May 29, when fellow climbers left him behind after he ran out of oxygen just below the South Col. He and his Polish client had decided to retreat from above the South Col, abandoning a summit push they began on the night of May 28.

"My walkie-talkie was lost when descending alone from the South Col to the Yellow Band area and I ran out of oxygen support," Dawa told The Tourism Times. "It took me several hours to reach Camp III on May 30."

That night at Camp III, he suffered from stomach pain. "I ate a few chocolates and drank water there," he recalled.

On May 31, he reached Camp II late in the evening. "I spent a night there, searched for spare food items and stayed inside a tent." A few other climbers were evacuated from Camp II in the morning on May 31. "I saw no one at Camp II when I reached there," he added.

The next day, June 1, he decided to descend toward Camp I and below. But on June 2, while moving through the Khumbu Icefall, disaster struck. "I fell into the crevasse from the last ladder the icefall doctors placed in the icefall section," Dawa said.

He spent nearly two days trapped inside the crevasse. "Luckily, an avalanche created an ice ramp inside the crevasse, and I then tried to get out from that crevasse. I successfully came out and started crawling toward Everest Base Camp."

On June 3, he heard a helicopter but wasn't seen. Early on June 4, around 4 am, he finally escaped the crevasse by jumping up from the ice ramp. A garbage management team from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) spotted him at Crampon Point, crawling downward. They rescued him, carrying him on their backs to Gorakshep.

From there, an Altitude helicopter took him to Surke. But Dawa was left waiting at Surke for nearly an hour while the chopper, as per Dawa, flew another cargo mission to Everest Base Camp. "I was surprised how the chopper didn't take me to Kathmandu directly and dropped me there at Surke for another cargo mission," he said. The helicopter eventually returned and flew him to Kathmandu for treatment.

Throughout his harrowing experience, Dawa refused to give up. "While staying inside the crevasse for two nights, my guts said someone will see me on their descent from Camp I and help me to get out from the crevasse," he said. 

He also expressed bewilderment at his employer's inaction. "I wondered most of the time why Himalayan Traverse Adventure didn't mobilize any support for me as I was alone on the mountain. I only chewed ice inside the deep crevasse.”

He added: "Initially, I was assigned as a cook at Camp II, and later I was asked to work as a guide for the Polish client. I agreed to the offer just for the summit bonus." 

Dawa thanked SPCC, 8K Expeditions, the Department of Tourism, his family, friends, HAMS family and well-wishers from around the world for their support. "Please, don't take my photo! I am going home now," Dawa quipped.

Dawa will visit HAMS in five days for follow-up.