(TibetanReview.net, Oct08’25) – All the nearly 900 hikers and local hiking service personnel stranded by heavy snowfall in Tibet’s Mt Everest County of Dingri County, Shigatse City, emerged safely by Oct 7, reported China’s state news agency Xinhua Oct 8. Also, a total of 251 trapped individuals were evacuated from the Qilian Mountains (Tibetan: Dola Ringmo) in Qinghai province, reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Oct 8.
In Dingri, a total of 580 hikers and more than 300 personnel, including local guides and yak herders, arrived safely in Qudeng (Chuthang) Township and nearby areas, where local staff were organizing their return journeys in an orderly manner, the county government was cited as saying.
Heavy snowfall began to hit Dingri on Oct 4 evening, affecting the hikers along mountain trails near Qudeng. The county government announced Oct 5 that several scenic areas, including the Mount Everest scenic area, were temporarily closed due to heavy snowfall.
In neighbouring Nepal, a South Korean climber died after getting caught in a storm while ascending a Himalayan peak just south of Everest, reported the AP Oct 7.
Blizzard also engulfed Qinghai province where a 41-year-old male hiker died from hypothermia and altitude sickness on Oct 3 in Menyuan county’s Laohugou valley, Haibei (Tsojang) prefecture. The trapped individuals, scattered across the border area between Qinghai and Gansu provinces, were rescued after nearly 72 hours of emergency search and rescue operations, the report said.
The Menyuan county government issued a notice prohibiting hiking in the area, saying the hikers had entered illegally, the AP report said.
The severe weather struck in the middle of a weeklong national holiday in China, when many flock to national parks and other tourist sites.