🔗 Share this article

Hikers have recounted encountering "harsh" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China stated that around 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping numerous of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme weather I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the snow had nearly buried the peak," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as snow rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"On the way, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the snow was intense in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for easier hiking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted tents buried in snow and lines of hikers walking through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources reported.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The weather also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the area, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had not experienced such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority said ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were also hit by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.