Evacuation of Stranded Everest Trekkers Set to Wrap Up on Tuesday, Source Says

Rescue efforts to evacuate over 200 trekkers stranded near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet are expected to conclude on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation. The trekkers were trapped due to severe snowstorms that swept through western China.

The incident occurred when hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts, taking advantage of an eight-day holiday starting October 1, were caught off guard by a sudden blizzard while attempting to view Everest’s Kangshung face.

Evacuation operations, which began on Monday, are anticipated to be completed by Tuesday. The source, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization to communicate with media, confirmed the timeline. Tibet’s regional government has yet to provide official comments.

The affected area, located in Tibet’s remote Karma valley at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), experienced continuous snowfall through Saturday. Rescue teams successfully guided approximately 350 stranded hikers to safety by Sunday.

One survivor, Eric Wen, 41, shared his experience:

«Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow — that made it a little easier. I trudged through 19 km (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 assisted Wen and other members of his expedition in reaching Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, by Monday.

The valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, remains relatively untouched, featuring lush vegetation and pristine alpine forests nourished by glacier melt — a stark contrast to the arid north face of the world’s highest mountain.

The severe weather also impacted climbers attempting to summit Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak at 8,188 meters (26,864 feet) on the China-Nepal border. Expedition leader Garrett Madison reported that a major storm dumped over a meter of snow on Everest and surrounding peaks.

In related incidents, one trekker died of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness in the Qilian Mountains on the Qinghai-Gansu border. By Monday evening, 213 stranded individuals in the Qilian area had been rescued.

Further west in Xinjiang, authorities suspended hiking and camping activities in the Kanas lake district of the Altai mountains, convincing over 300 hikers to turn back. Highway clearance operations have also been conducted to remove dangerous ice and snow that stranded tourist vehicles over the weekend.