Group dug their way out with cooking pots after heavy snow strands hikers on Mt Everest

SINGAPORE: Hundreds of people who went trekking around the Tibetan side of Everest found themselves stranded at heights of almost 5,000 metres due to severe weather last weekend.

Heavy snowfall caused hikers’ tents to collapse, as well as covered over trails, which meant the need for them to evacuate.

Fortunately, rescuers were able to help almost 600 hikers and 300 local guides and other support staff, guiding them to safety to the small township of Qudang by Tuesday night (Oct 7). A 41-year-old South Korean man, however, succumbed to hypothermia due to the freak blizzard that took place.

The severe weather event occurred during China’s Golden Week holiday, which is traditionally a boon for local tourism, and the area where the blizzard struck normally enjoys mild weather and calm skies in early October, but snow began falling on Friday night (Oct 3) and continued into the weekend.

A group of travellers, however, was saved by their own quick thinking and their cooking pots. A report in CNN says that Feng Holiday, 30, went hiking with a group of friends on Oct 1. They started out at Youpa Village in Tibet and headed for the Gama Valley on the eastern side of Mount Everest.

Initially, as they were well-equipped, they thought nothing of the falling snow.

Ms Feng told CNN that by midnight on Saturday, the snow on their tents had gotten heavier, and the inside of the tents was getting wet. When she left her tent, she discovered that the other members of her group were also snowed in, and they needed to dig their way out. As they had no tools for digging, they used their cooking pots for that purpose.

She and her group were able to make their way down the mountain on Sunday morning, with the report saying they left their tents and other gear along the way to make their descent easier.

According to CNN, reports estimated that over 3 feet, or 95 centimetres, of snow had fallen at Mt Everest’s summit by Oct 4, which is almost three times the average for this part of the year.

“We have to respect nature,” said Ms Feng.

As another hiker told Reuters, “The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly. It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk.” /TISG

Read also: Shri, this one’s for you. There will never be another You’ — Wife pens heartfelt tribute to Singapore mountaineer who went missing on Mount Everest