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By Ryan Woo
October 7, 2025 — 7.21am
Beijing: Hundreds of trekkers were stranded by a blizzard near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media reported, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas.
About 350 trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang by Monday afternoon (AEDT) after being guided to safety by rescuers, while contact with more than 200 people still stuck on the lower slopes had been made, CCTV reported.
Tibet media released a video showing trekkers being welcomed with hot soup in a communal hall and then boarding buses that took them away from the area.
Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China.
“It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk,” said Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong trekking team that made it to Qudang.
“The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly.”
Chen’s party descended from the mountains on Sunday and was greeted with sweet tea by villagers after enduring a harrowing evening of heavy snowfall combined with thunder and lightning.
Hundreds of villagers and rescue teams had been deployed to help remove snow blocking access to the area, where nearly 1000 people had been trapped, according to an earlier report by state-backed Jimu News.
A hiker who rushed to descend before snow blocked the way told Jimu that others still on the mountain told him the snow was one-metre deep and had crushed tents.
The remaining trekkers were due to arrive in Qudang in stages under the assistance of rescuers organised by the local government, CCTV reported on Sunday. Its Monday evening news bulletin did not provide any updates.
The CCTV report did not say if local guides and support staff of the trekking parties had been accounted for.
Villagers with oxen and horses ascend during rescue efforts to reach hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on Mount Everest in Tibet on Sunday.Credit: AP
Snowfall in the valley, which lies at an elevation averaging 4200 metres, began on Friday evening and persisted throughout Saturday.
“It was raining and snowing every day, and we did not see Everest at all,” said Eric Wen, who survived the ordeal.
His trekking party of 18 had decided on Saturday night to make their way back from their fifth and final campsite, concerned by the continuous snowfall.
“We only had a few tents. More than 10 of us were in the large tent and hardly slept,” Wen told Reuters on Monday.
Wen said his group had to clear the snow every 10 minutes. “Otherwise our tents would have collapsed,” he said.
Two men and a woman in the group suffered hypothermia when the temperature slipped below freezing, even though they were sufficiently attired, Wen said.
But his expedition party emerged largely unscathed, including eight other expedition guides and several others who tended the yaks transporting their equipment and kit.
Mount Everest – the world’s highest mountain – is about 8850 metres tall.
Karma valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region.
Unlike the peak’s arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier.
It was unclear if trekkers near the north face – which draws large numbers of tourists due to its easy access by paved road – had been affected.
October is a peak season, when skies usually clear at the end of the Indian monsoon. To the south of Tibet in Nepal, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 50 people since Friday.
Thirty-seven people died in separate landslides in the eastern Ilam district bordering India.
A South Korean trekker died in Nepal and his body was recovered by a rescue helicopter on Monday, said Tulsi Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guides Association. His guide was rescued.
The hiker, whose name was not given, climbed the 6476 metres Mera Peak on Saturday.
Reuters
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