🔗 Share this article

Trekkers have described encountering "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Chinese authorities reported that around 350 people had made their way down 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 visitors had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of individuals at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

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

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had nearly covered the top," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the storm 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 more accessible than locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of tourists for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage posted online depicted tents buried in snow and lines of trekkers moving through waist-high snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

At least 200 additional were still stranded but had been reached, the reports said. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected anyone on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the area, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in the fall. And it occurred very abruptly."

The regional travel department announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.