A Nepalese guide has been pulled from the death zone on Mount Everest after six days stranded above 8,000 metres, in an operation that British mountaineers have called a testament to Sherpa endurance and skill. The guide, 34-year-old Pemba Dorje Sherpa, was discovered by a commercial expedition team on Tuesday morning after a desperate search by local rescue crews. He had become separated from his group during a storm last Thursday and was presumed dead by many.
Accounts from the British team, who provided critical support with oxygen and logistics, describe a man clinging to life in the open air, frostbitten and severely dehydrated. Pemba had managed to dig a shallow snow cave but had no food or working stove. His survival against such odds has astonished medical experts.
The rescue took place in hazardous conditions, with winds gusting over 70 mph and temperatures dropping below minus 30 degrees Celsius. Sherpa porters and guides from several expeditions formed a human chain to hoist him down the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. British climber James Rathbone said: “These men risked their own lives without a second thought. Pemba is alive because of their courage.”
Pemba Dorje Sherpa is now recovering at a clinic in Kathmandu. He has lost several toes to frostbite but doctors expect him to walk again. His family have expressed gratitude to the rescue teams. The incident has reignited debate about safety standards on the world’s highest peak, where commercial expeditions often push climbers into the lethal altitude known as the “death zone”.
For the Sherpa community, this story is both a triumph and a reminder of the perils they face daily. They are the invisible backbone of mountaineering, carrying loads, fixing ropes, and guiding foreign clients, often for a fraction of the pay. British colleagues have called for better insurance and support for these workers. As one put it: “We go home after a climb. They live with the mountain every day.”
