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The Nepali mountaineer who survived nearly a week on Mount Everest said he "chewed ice" to stay alive as he recovered in the hospital following a rescue that stunned the climbing community.
Dawa Sherpa, 57, disappeared in brutal conditions on the upper slopes of the world's tallest mountain on May 30 during one of the last climbs of spring.
With few climbers remaining on the mountain and his oxygen supply depleted, relatives had already begun mourning rituals, believing he had died.
"I didn't think I would be alive," he told BBC Nepali from his hospital bed.
Left stranded near Everest's notorious death zone, where oxygen levels are dangerously low, Dawa Sherpa survived for days with almost no food or water.
"I didn't eat anything for the first two days. Then I began chewing ice. It hurt my teeth. I chewed the ice hard," he said.
He also relied on a handful of chocolates and snacks he found in his pockets, softening them with water before eating them.
Dawa Sherpa, known by the nickname "Hillary" after legendary mountaineer Edmund Hillary, also revealed that he fell into a crevasse at one point but managed to climb back out.
Recalling his escape, Sherpa said he eventually found a fixed rope that guided him down the mountain.
"I held on to it and walked," he said. "Eventually, I came down."
He continued moving day and night toward base camp until he finally encountered members of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) on June 4.
The team, which helps maintain climbing routes and remove waste from Everest, found him crawling toward base camp and carried him to safety.
He was later flown to Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, for treatment for frostbite, severe dehydration, and a fractured thigh bone.
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Sherpa's survival has been widely celebrated among climbers and local communities, but it has also sparked criticism over how long it took rescuers to locate him.
Family members questioned why he was not found sooner, while mountaineering officials called for a review of the incident.
Nepal Mountaineering Association president Fur Gelje Sherpa described the survival as extraordinary but said the case raised serious concerns about climber safety.
"It is irresponsible and inhumane to leave a person behind," he said, calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Fellow Everest guide Rinji Sherpa noted that Dawa Sherpa is an experienced mountaineer who has survived several dangerous situations throughout his climbing career.
This year's Everest season, the busiest on record with more than 1,000 successful summits, also saw at least five climber deaths.
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