NIGHTMARE: Over 600 People Are Currently Stuck At The Top Of Mt. Everest With No Way Down After A Blizzard Strands Them At The Summit
Source - Nearly 1,000 climbers were trapped on Mt. Everest by a blizzard ... and, while several hundred are safely down, a majority are still stuck up there.
The BBC -- citing Chinese state media -- reports rescue efforts are underway, with authorities and locals in the area teaming up to get people off the world's tallest mountain.
About 350 people are already safely down from the mountain ... but the rest are still fighting and braving the elements.
A large snowfall began Friday night ... pelting the eastern slopes of the mountain in Tibet -- a popular spot for hikers. Reuters reports authorities have made contact with the remaining hikers on the mountain.
BBC also reports heavy rains in Nepal has triggered landslides and floods ... which have led to the death of 47 people.
Everest is a notoriously dangerous mountain to climb ... with more than 400 people dying while trying to reach the peak.
As I get older, I find myself with an increasingly present desire for adventure. I want to see things, go places, experience what the world has to offer before I blow my other ACL/meniscus out in a rival podcast pickup basketball game with zero upside. That's part of the reason why I love the motorcycle - it gives me a sense of freedom from the mundane. An escape from the ordinary. It forces me to be present in a way that nothing else can. I have to focus on riding because if I don't...I'm dead. That being said, my adventures usually end up at a nice hotel before I pick things up the following morning and hop back on the iron horse. Which is why WHENEVER I hear about people hiking Mount Everest my mind is blown. I kind of get it...but at the same time not at all. The Wonton did a video two years ago of him hiking to base camp and even that was exhausting...
These people have to hike another eleven-THOUSAND feet just to reach the summit. Not only that, it can get so crowded on the way up (if you survive) that it's basically like walking down 7th avenue during rush hour. Everest also has some of the most unpredictable weather on earth (outside of Mt. Washington in NH which is crazy to say). One second you're enjoying a beautiful day, the next you're clinging to life with 600 other people at the highest point on earth...and why? Just to say you did it? To each their own, but not for me. My adventures do not involve stepping over dead bodies to get there.
I genuinely cannot even imagine what these hikers and their families are going through. The good news is, these people have equipment that is made to handle these conditions. Fingers crossed everyone at the summit makes it down safely once the storm passes.