🔗 Share this article

Hikers have described encountering "extreme" situations after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities stated 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 area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking adventures, without question," a Chinese trekker stated on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost covered the peak," said another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on the next day as the conditions worsened.

"On the way, we met our guide's father who had searched for him. That's when we learned the snow was intense in the valley as well; villagers, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

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

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," state media announced.

No fewer than 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates said. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is limited. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with usually clear and mild weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were also hit by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.