More than 1,000 people were stuck in mountain hiking areas for days, sparking extensive rescue efforts by local authorities and villagers
The weather wasn’t great. A bit drizzly and cold. But about 1,000 people steeled themselves on Mount Everest’s eastern flank to spend the national day long weekend trekking.
As he led the group along the path lined with stunning icy peaks, 32-year-old guide Shu Wei felt increasingly uneasy. He knew the weather on the mountains could be unpredictable and dangerous, but this snowfall was something else.
“It had already reached up to our knees around 8pm,” he says. “And it didn’t stop snowing the entire night.”
A few days after they’d first set out, a deadly storm had formed above them, lashing Tibet and Nepal with heavy rain and snow, and trapping more than a 1,000 mostly Chinese hikers for days, a wild weather event that sparked extensive rescue efforts.
