Nearly 1,000 People Trapped by Mount Everest Blizzard

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The world’s tallest mountain has been hit by an unexpected storm.

A powerful blizzard hit the eastern side of Mount Everest in Tibet over the weekend, leaving almost 1,000 hikers stuck on the mountain, Chinese state media reports.

Around 350 people have safely reached the Tibetan town of Qudang, but rescuers say hundreds of hikers are still on the mountain and are expected to reach the meeting point over time, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Climbers usually attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest—which is about 29,032 feet high—in the autumn, as the weather is best for climbing then. The most common routes to the top are via the North Col in Tibet or the South Col in Nepal.

According to Chen Geshuang, who was climbing on the Tibetan side, the trek started to experience rain about a third of the way through, and it quickly worsened. It first turned to sleet, and then a full blizzard set in, he told NBC News.

Chen reported that her team of 18 began experiencing early symptoms of hypothermia and feeling the effects of the cold, so they decided to head back.

She described the night as incredibly stressful, and recalled waking up on October 5th to find a very deep layer of snow—around a meter, or up to her thighs.

Chen added to Reuters that the “weather this year is not normal.”

She remembered how incredibly wet and cold it had been in the mountains. The guide told them he’d never seen weather like that in October, and it had all come on so quickly.

Eric Wen, a climber forced to descend because of the bad weather, reported that he couldn’t see Mount Everest due to the heavy snow and poor visibility during the blizzard.

We didn’t have many tents, and over ten of us were crammed into the biggest one, making it hard to sleep,” he explained. “We constantly had to shovel snow – about every ten minutes – to prevent the tents from collapsing.

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2025-10-07 03:17