Incredible team effort to save the life of Nima Phinju Sherpa who fell 30 meters into a crevasse between Camp 1 and Camp 2.
Nima Phinju Sherpa, a kitchen staff member, was on his way to camp 2 on Everest, when he fell into a crevasse at 6100 m (20,000 ft). In an attempt to jump over the opening, Nima landed on a snow bridge that broke off beneath his feet. Unroped, wearing no harness or crampons, he fell 30 meters (98 feet) below, vanishing from sight. The chances of surviving such a fall into a V-shaped crevasse are typically low, but miraculously, Nima's friend heard a faint whistle from below, indicating he was still alive.
On this Everest expedition, I was guiding Rafa Jaramillo, a climber from Mexico who has been blind since 18 due to cancer. We were on our summit push and resting at camp 2 (6400m). A fellow Seven Summit Treks' guide came to my tent and told me about Nima's fall. He said, “No one here has experience doing rescues. You should go and help." Upon learning that Nima was thought to be alive, without hesitation, I prepared to go.
With my extensive experience doing rescues and having completed specialized mountain and crevasse rescue training, I knew what I needed to do. I quickly assembled a team of four capable Sherpas and gathered essential equipment, including ropes, an oxygen bottle, and an ice axe. At around 3pm, we left camp 2 and headed down to the rescue location.
Meanwhile, Tashi, the Seven Summit Treks manager, took action and sent Gelje Sherpa (mountain guide) to the rescue location via helicopter from base camp. Upon arrival at the lip of the crevasse, I saw Benny Leiber (mountain guide) and a few Sherpas. Gelje was already inside crevasse, but it was too hard to communicate with him because he didn’t bring a radio. Not wanting to waste time, I decided to descend into the crevasse.
Inside, I discovered Nima at the bottom, buried up to his neck in the snow. Gelje removed enough snow to free Nima’s arms and hands. I asked Nima if he felt any pain, and he reported feeling cold but no pain. To reduce the chance of frostbite, I immediately placed an oxygen mask on him and urged Nima to keep moving and pushing himself.
Clearing the snow with just our hands proved to be too challenging. I radioed Benny that we needed a shovel and he coordinated with base camp to have a helicopter fly one up to us. While grateful for the speedy arrangement, I was very nervous when I felt the vibrations from the helicopter as it hovered right above the crevasse. The vibrations could have easily destabilized the seracs inside the crevasse, putting us all at greater risk.
In extremely tight quarters, Gelje and I took turns shoveling the snow away from around Nima for nearly three hours. Because Nima’s shoes were wedged so tightly in the snow, we decided it was time to utilize a haul system to try to lift him out. We put a harness on his chest, tied one of the free ropes through it, and I coordinated with Benny when it was safe to begin pulling. It was successful, and Nima was lifted out — his shoes still trapped in the snow.
Once Nima was out, Gelje ascended next, followed by me. On my way up I was aware that if the helicopter returned to pick Nima up while I was still ascending, it’s vibrations could yet again put me at risk.
Once everyone was safely out of the crevasse, we rested for 10 minutes, and then began walking back to camp 2. It was around 6:30 pm when we arrived. My thoughts turned towards the next goal - reaching the summit of Everest with Rafa...
Because of the incredible team effort, we were able to rescue Nima. Thank you to Seven Summit Treks, Heli Everest, Benny Leiber, Gelje Sherpa, Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Nima Dorchi Sherpa, Dawa Rinje Sherpa, Ngang Dawa Sherpa, Mingma Sono Sherpa, and Suwiaa Sherpa.
The legend 💪😎🗻 ⛅