Evacuation of stranded Everest trekkers set to wrap up on Tuesday, source says

A blizzard in a remote valley on the eastern face of Mount Everest had stranded the trekkers, many of whom were later guided to safety by rescuers

FILE PHOTO: Mountaineers and trekkers head towards the Everest base camp from Lobuche in the Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region, Nepal Apr 12, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima Shrestha/File Photo

Efforts to evacuate more than 200 trekkers still stranded near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet are expected to wrap up on Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation said, after snowstorms tore across western China.

Outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to China's rugged interior since an eight-day holiday began on Oct 1, but a sudden blizzard over the weekend caught off guard hundreds of hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of Everest's Kangshung face.

Their evacuation, which began on Monday, should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media on the matter. Tibet's regional government had no immediate comment.

Snow fell through Saturday in Tibet's remote Karma valley, at an average altitude of 4,200m (13,800 feet). On Sunday, rescuers guided about 350 stranded hikers to safety.

"Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow - that made it a little easier," said Eric Wen, 41, adding that he trudged through 19km (12 miles), most of it heavy snow, to leave the valley.

"Otherwise, it would've been impossible for us to make it out on our own."

Regional authorities helped Wen and others on his expedition reach the Tibetan capital of Lhasa by Monday.

First explored by Western travellers a century ago, the valley is relatively pristine. In contrast to the arid north face of the world's highest mountain, it is swathed in lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests fed by glacier melt.

'METRE OF SNOW'

The snowstorm also thwarted the plans of climbers guided by US-based Madison Mountaineering to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188m (26,864-ft) peak on China's border with Nepal that is the world's sixth highest.

"A major storm suddenly developed and dumped over a metre of snow on Everest and the surrounding Himalayan peaks," expedition leader Garrett Madison told Reuters in a text message on Tuesday.

When the weather improves, they aim to resume their ascent.

North of Tibet, one trekker died of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness after being stranded by snowstorms on Sunday in a gully in the Qilian Mountains on the border of the western provinces of Qinghai and Gansu.

By Monday evening, 213 in the Qilian area were pulled to safety, China Central Television (CCTV) said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, authorities further west in Xinjiang suspended hiking and camping in the lake district of Kanas in the Altai mountains. Police have so far convinced more than 300 hikers heading for the area to turn back.

On Tuesday, CCTV said highways had been cleared of dangerous ice and snow that had blanketed them over the weekend, stranding tourist vehicles.

Police patrolling the area on Sunday had encountered a group of 16 hikers, one of whom, showing symptoms of hypothermia and unable to move, was taken to the hospital and is now in stable condition, the broadcaster added.