The World's Highest Peak Hikers Report 'Severe' Weather as Large-Scale Operation Persists

Hikers have described facing "harsh" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of people at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, without question," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, detailing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the peak," said another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the storm was heavy in the valley too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts large crowds of visitors for less technical hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet showed tents covered by snow and lines of hikers moving through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is strictly regulated by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The weather also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the region, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced conditions like this in the fall. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.