On Monday, Chinese rescuers were urgently working to evacuate hundreds of hikers who found themselves stranded on the eastern side of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, due to a thick blanket of snow that covered the campsites over the weekend.
As reported by state broadcaster CCTV, close to 350 hikers have already reached a safe spot in the small town of Qudang. Rescuers are in communication with over 200 additional hikers who are expected to reach the safe location gradually.
Initially, local news had stated that the snowstorm affected nearly 1,000 individuals. However, local rescue officials were not immediately available to clarify the difference in these figures.
No casualties were reported, according to local media.
“About one-third into the trek, it began to rain and the rain kept getting heavier,” shared Chen Geshuang, a 28-year-old astrophotographer, in an online video interview with NBC News. Chen started the climb on Saturday afternoon but chose to turn back on Sunday.
“Later, it turned into sleet, and eventually a full-on blizzard.”
Verified social media videos, reviewed by NBC News, showed hikers shoveling snow out of their tents and moving in single file through the intense snowstorm with limited visibility.
The hikers were trapped at an altitude of nearly 16,000 feet, reported Jimu News, highlighting that local villagers and rescue teams were actively working to clear the snow-blocked roads.
At 29,000 feet, Mount Everest is considered the world’s tallest mountain when measured from sea level.
The unusually intense snowfall began Friday night and continued through Saturday in the Gama Valley of Tingri County in the autonomous region of Tibet, “disrupting the itineraries of some tourists hiking in the area,” CCTV said.
Within hours, some of Chen’s team were exhibiting signs of mild hypothermia and cold stress, she said. By Saturday night, the storm intensified with lightning almost every minute.
“It was a nerve-wracking night,” she said. “When we woke up this morning, the snow was extremely deep— about one meter, reaching up to our thighs.”
The group decided to retreat, arriving at the foot of the mountain Sunday evening. Neighboring Nepal was also hit with heavy rainfall, where at least 44 people were killed from landslides and floods.
The severe weather event occurred as more than 299 million people were expected to travel regionally on Sunday due to a weeklong national holiday that included China’s National Day last week and the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday, CCTV said in a separate report.
Ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area was suspended late Saturday, according to notices on the official WeChat accounts of the local Tingri County Tourism Company.
Mount Everest is called Mount Qomolangma in Chinese, and it stretches along the border of Tibet and Nepal, and climbers from both countries attempt to scale the peak along different slopes.
While the Nepalese side has seen a boom in Everest-related tourism and significant investment, the Tibetan side is especially remote.
