It had been feared Dawa Sherpa had perished on the mountain, with his family in Nepal's capital Kathmandu beginning last rites before he was spotted by a clean-up team.

A Nepali climbing guide who went missing on Mount Everest for six days and was feared dead has been found alive after crawling back to Base Camp, officials told AFP on Thursday.

Dawa Sherpa was last seen around May 29 descending the mountain, but while he did not reach base camp, his client did.