(TibetanReview.net, Oct31’25) – Both the Nepali and Tibetan sides of the Mt Everest region were closed to tourism on Oct 29 due to heavy snow brought by cyclone winds, with deep snowdrifts causing a helicopter to crash as it tried to rescue stranded trekkers, reported Reuters Oct 29, citing authorities.
The report said the region has been blanketed by snow since Oct 27 as a cyclone from the Bay of Bengal churned across India, ushering in a second bout of severe snowfall in the Himalayas this month.
On the Tibetan side of Everest, ticket sales had been suspended since Oct 28 afternoon as roads turned icy and visibility plunged, creating impassable conditions for vehicular traffic, the report cited the tourism department of Dingri county as saying.
In early October, a blizzard stranded hundreds of trekkers near the eastern face of Everest on the Tibetan side. All of the trekkers were taken to safety in a large-scale rescue operation that spanned several days under sub-freezing conditions.
Currently, on the Nepalis side, a small private helicopter flying to Lobuche near the Everest Base Camp to rescue stranded trekkers crashed when it tried to land, said the Reuters report, citing Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul.
Army and police rescuers guided hundreds of trekkers in Manang district to safety since Oct 26, Nepal Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet has said.
Basnet has said about 1,500 hikers, including 200 foreigners of different nationalities, their guides and local trekkers had lost their way as hiking trails were buried under deep snow.
The unexpectedly early snowfall has also disrupted life in Himalayan Nepal. Residents of villages in Humla, Mugu and Dolpa districts have been trapped indoors, disrupting their annual winter migration to lower regions, reported kathmandupost.com Oct 31.
The snowfall blanketed several high-altitude settlements across the Karnali region, including Namkha, Kharpunath and Sarkegad in Humla; Mugum Karmarong in Mugu; and Chharka Tangsong, Dolpo Buddha and Shey Phoksundo rural municipalities in Dolpa, the report said.
“The snow arrived earlier than usual. Even walking between houses is difficult. Everyone is staying indoors, and livestock are confined to sheds,” Paljor Tamang, ward chair of Namkha-6, has said.
In previous years, people left the villages in November, but this year’s early snowfall has trapped most residents in their villages. … The settlements are deserted, and no one can step outside.” The Mugum Karmarong rural municipality chair Tsering Kyapne Lama has said.
He has said the last time such an early snowfall occurred was in 2011.
Meanwhile, 15 trekkers, including three British nationals, have been rescued from the snow-affected Hidden Valley area of Mustang after being trapped by heavy snowfall along the Dhaulagiri Circuit Trail, said another kathmandupost.com report Oct 31.
The Nepali Army has said tourists had been stranded since Oct 28 after heavy snowfall hit the high-altitude region, located at around 4,900 metres. They were stated to have been safely brought down to Yak Kharka and were being escorted to Jomsom along with a joint rescue team of the Nepali Army’s High Mountain Training School and Indrabox Battalion, along with the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, and local guides.