This handout received on October 6 shows a tent buried under deep snow in the Karma Valley of the Tibet Autonomous Region on October 5, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Courtesy of Xiong JinXin / AFP)
Hundreds of hikers were stranded on the lower slopes of the world’s tallest mountain and the surrounding area amid a weekend of heavy snowfall, as a holiday week brought many Chinese tourists to the area.
At least 350 hikers had been rescued from the Mount Everest snowstorm by noon Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. The outlet posted photos of bundled hikers eating hot meals at a pickup point in the small Tibetan town of Qudang. Around 200 more are still stuck on the mountain.
Hundreds of search-and-rescue officials, including teams with horses and drones, have launched efforts, per state media, with villagers chipping in with oxen and horses.
One hiker dead after heavy snowfall in China
In China’s Qilian Mountain range, a 41-year-old man died of hypothermia and acute altitude sickness while hiking during the weekend of continuous snowfall, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported Monday. More than 137 others were evacuated, it said.
Mount Everest is some 29,000 feet tall, but local media reports indicated that the hikers were trapped at a lower elevation closer to 5,000 meters, mostly at tourist campsites.
China’s embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for more details on the situation, including whether any foreign nationals were stranded or injured.
Everest straddles an international border, with one part in Nepal and the other in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. No climbers or tourists were trapped in the recent weather on the Nepal side, local authorities told the Kathmandu Post.
A designated Scenic Area around the Himalayan mountain on the Chinese side has become a well-trafficked tourist destination.
The increasing popularity of Everest tourism, along with crowding on climbing routes, has drawn international attention in recent years. The full climb to reach Mount Everest’s summit can take about two months, including acclimatization.
More than 6,000 people have successfully summited the mountain, and hundreds have died on its slopes.
