A Nepalese guide has been plucked from the death zone of Mount Everest after spending six harrowing days stranded on the icy slopes, sources confirm. The rescue, led by a British expedition team, unfolded in a daring helicopter operation that pushed the limits of high-altitude survival. The guide, identified as 34-year-old Pemba Sherpa, was last seen alive on Tuesday after a sudden storm separated him from his client group near the South Col at 7,900 metres.
For nearly a week, he survived in a shallow ice cave with minimal food and water, battling frostbite and oxygen deprivation. A British-led team from Himalayan Ascent spotted his signals on Saturday and coordinated a helicopter rescue that defied the mountain's treacherous winds. Sources say the pilot, a former RAF officer, executed a series of perilous landings on the Lhotse Face to extract the guide.
The operation has reignited debates about commercial climbing's safety record and the exploitation of local guides. Documents uncovered by this newsroom reveal that Pemba's employer, a Kathmandu-based agency, had failed to provide adequate oxygen tanks for the summit push. The agency's director denies any negligence, but our sources confirm that at least three other guides have reported similar shortages this season.
The British team's leader, Dr. James Morton, a veteran climber and former surgeon, described the rescue as a 'miracle against the odds.' But he also warned that the mountain is becoming a 'corporate graveyard' where profit margins outweigh human life.
Pemba is now recovering at a clinic in Kathmandu, where doctors say he will lose two toes to frostbite. His family has launched a fundraising appeal, but the agency has yet to offer compensation. The story is a grim reminder that on Everest, the body count isn't always the headlines.
It's the men who carry the bags who pay the highest price.
