Overview

• State media report at least one death from hypothermia as more than 200 people at higher altitudes move toward designated rendezvous points.
• About 350 hikers have been brought down to Qudang while hundreds of rescuers, including the Blue Sky Rescue team, clear snow-blocked routes.
• Camp tents collapsed under heavy snowfall—reported at roughly a meter in places—raising acute hypothermia risks, according to trekkers’ accounts.
• Local authorities closed the Everest scenic area and nearby sites in Tingri County and suspended ticket sales during the emergency response.
• Holiday crowds during China’s Golden Week and the limits of high-altitude rescue—thin air, treacherous terrain, and constrained helicopter reach—are slowing operations.