🔗 Share this article

Hikers have described encountering "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest weather I've experienced in all my trekking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, detailing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the accumulation had almost covered the top," shared another trekker on a social platform. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the storm was intense in the lowlands too; locals, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of visitors for easier trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and rows of hikers moving through waist-high snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the updates said. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the way out.

Officials provided minimal updates or updated information about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with usually clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "not normal."

"The guide said he had not experienced conditions like this in the fall. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.