🔗 Share this article

Trekkers have recounted encountering "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends trapped numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of tourists 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 hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest weather I've experienced in all my trekking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang said on social media, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the top," shared a hiker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their group had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They chose to descend on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide's father who had come looking for him. That's when we discovered the storm was heavy in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws high numbers of visitors for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters covered by snow and rows of hikers moving through deep drifts to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path very slick. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media announced.

At least 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the updates indicated. Local news reported that hundreds of rescuers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from blocking the way out.

There was minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the storm had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. A number of hikers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

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

"The guide told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.