🔗 Share this article

Trekkers have described encountering "harsh" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of people at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest weather I've ever faced in all my trekking experiences, without question," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, detailing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had nearly buried the top," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it hourly. They chose to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we discovered the snow was heavy in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of tourists for easier trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online showed shelters covered by snow and lines of hikers moving through deep drifts to descend the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the trail very slick. Hikers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the reports said. Local news reported that scores of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or updated information about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The weather also appears to have have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a peak season for the region, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The regional travel department said ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.