🔗 Share this article

Trekkers have described encountering "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends trapped hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest weather I've ever faced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, detailing a "intense snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the accumulation had almost buried the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the fear of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the storm was intense in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring side of the border and attracts large crowds of tourists for easier hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters buried in snow and lines of trekkers walking through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

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

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports said. Media outlets reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had impacted anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also seemed to have affected local communications, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with typically clear and mild weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader said he had not experienced such weather in the fall. And it occurred all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in the neighboring country.