More than 200 trekkers who were trapped by a snowstorm near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet over the weekend are currently undergoing evacuation, according to a reliable source familiar with the situation. The evacuation operation commenced on Monday and is expected to conclude by Tuesday. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to disclose details to the media, provided this information.
The Tibetan regional government has not issued any immediate statement regarding the ongoing evacuation efforts. Previously, around 350 trekkers who were stranded in the remote Karma valley of Tibet due to the blizzard were successfully guided to safety by local rescue teams.
In recent days, a significant number of Chinese outdoor enthusiasts have ventured into the challenging terrain of the country’s interior, driven by the start of the eight-day National Day holiday on October 1. Reports from state media reveal that in western China, numerous trekkers, including those in the Karma valley seeking views of Everest’s eastern Kangshung face, were caught off guard by sudden heavy snowfall.
The snowfall began on Friday evening and continued through Saturday in the Karma valley, situated at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). This valley, discovered by Western explorers a century ago, is a relatively untouched area of the Everest region. Unlike the arid north face of the peak, it features lush vegetation and pristine alpine forests nourished by the meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the base of the world’s highest mountain.
In the Qilian Mountains along the border of western Qinghai and Gansu provinces, one trekker stranded in a gully during the snowstorms tragically lost their life, while 137 others were successfully evacuated, as reported by state-run Beijing News. Moving westward to Xinjiang, authorities have suspended hiking activities in the Kanas lake district of the Altai Mountains due to dangerously icy roads and heavy snowfall, as mentioned by Beijing News.