🔗 Share this article

Hikers have described facing "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 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.

Large groups of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding numerous of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker stated on social media, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had nearly covered the peak," said another trekker on a social platform. "That was the first time I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we met our guide's father who had searched for him. It was then we learned the storm was intense in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for easier trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted shelters covered by snow and lines of hikers walking through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that everyone made it down and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from obstructing the way out.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the operation on Monday. It was also not clear if the weather had impacted individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the area, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had never encountered conditions like this in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.