Clear skies, calm winds and a panoramic view of Himalayan peaks draped in snow - that is the autumn hikers on Mount Everest have come to love.
But that seems to be changing.
Meteorologists say monsoon now stretches into autumn, which is traditionally mountain tourism season. And during this delayed tail end of monsoon, they have recorded at least one episode of extreme rainfall almost every year for the past decade, with mountain weather becoming dangerous.
Last weekend, a shock blizzard stranded hundreds of tourists near the eastern face of Everest for days in freezing temperatures at an altitude of more than 4,900m (16,000ft).
Nearly 600 trekkers were guided to safety by the end of Tuesday, Chinese state media said. One person had died from hypothermia and altitude sickness, but the others were reportedly in good condition.
