580 hikers who were trapped by severe weather near Mount Everest have been guided to safety in Tibet, according to Chinese state media.
The trekkers arrived in the small township of Qudang and surrounding areas, along with 300 local guides, yak handlers and other support staff.
The tourists became stranded at an altitude of more than 4,900m after heavy snowfall blocked their route up Everest’s eastern slopes. The blizzard struck during China’s eight-day Golden Week holiday, a peak season for local tourism.
October usually provides clear skies and friendly temperatures, making it one of the favoured months to hike in the Mount Everest area. The heavy snowfall began last Friday evening, intensifying over the weekend, catching mountain guides off guard.
One trekker, who had visited the Himalayas more than a dozen times, told the BBC he had “never experienced weather like this”.
Chen Geshuang said the snow was about a metre deep when the group started their retreat on Sunday. “All of us are experienced hikers,” Ms Chen said. “But this blizzard was still extremely difficult to deal with. I was so lucky to get out.”
Police, firefighters and hundreds of local Tibetan volunteers were mobilised for the rescue effort. Read the full story from the BBC.
Milford track bookins cancelled after track opening delayed
The Milford Track season opening will be delayed by two weeks due to spring avalanche damage.
DOC says bookings for the track from October 28 to November 11 will be cancelled and refunded. Trampers beyond those dates will be advised as soon as possible if further delays are likely.
Significant snow and rain throughout September had caused large avalanches on the Milford Track, changing watercourses, damaging bridge footings and track infrastructure, and covering sections with ice and rock debris. Read the full story here.
Nobel committee unable to reach winner hiking off grid
The Nobel committee has been unable to reach a winner of this year’s prize for medicine, who is “living his best life” on an “off the grid” hiking foray, a spokesperson from his San Francisco-based lab, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, has said.
Fred Ramsdell shared Monday’s prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of Seattle, Washington and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system.
But the laureate’s digital detox means the Nobel committee has been unable to reach him and break the news.
Jeffrey Bluestone, a friend of Ramsdell’s and co-founder of the lab, said the researcher deserves credit but he can’t reach him, either. “I have been trying to get a hold of him myself. I think he may be backpacking in the backcountry in Idaho,” Bluestone told AFP.
The three won the prize for research that identified the immune system’s “security guards”, called regulatory T-cells.
Their work concerns “peripheral immune tolerance” that prevents the immune system from harming the body, and has led to a new field of research and the development of potential medical treatments now being evaluated in clinical trials. Read more from The Guardian.
DOC confirms parking prices for West Coast sites
DOC has confirmed the pricing structure for car parks at Dolomite Point, Punakaiki and Franz Josef/Waiau as part of a paid car parking pilot this coming summer. The paid parking pilot is planned to start in December 2025 and continue for seven months until the end of June 2026.
Payment machines will be installed at the sites and cameras will record the entry and exit of vehicles. Non-payment of parking fees will incur breach notices.
DOC’s estimated combined revenue from the Dolomite Point and Franz Josef paid parking pilots is expected to be approximately $1 million over the seven-month pilot period.
Once the pilot is completed, a decision will be made whether to continue with paid parking at the sites and if it should be extended to other sites.
The final details of the pricing are:
Read the full release from DOC.
New 42m suspension bridge opens on popular South Island track
A new 42-metre suspension bridge has officially opened across the Routeburn River, restoring full access to the Lake Sylvan Track.
The new bridge replaces one that was severely damaged in a significant storm in 2020, repaired, and subsequently swept away by another storm in 2023.
David Butt, DOC Whakatipu Wai Māori Operations Manager, highlighted the importance of resilience in the face of increasingly frequent storm events.
“Nature is our biggest asset, and it’s important we do the work to ensure we’re investing our efforts across our network of tracks and bridges in the right places,” Butt said.
He added that the original bridge location near the Sylvan Campsite had been prone to erosion, an issue that was anticipated to worsen. “After thorough investigations with our team of engineers, we made the call to build a replacement at a more stable site, around 600m upriver from the campsite.”
The new bridge sits approximately 11m above the river’s median height. A new section of approximately 1.5km of track has been constructed to connect the bridge to the Sylvan
Campsite and other nearby walking tracks, including the Lake Sylvan Track. Read more from Stuff.
Totara rail bridge closure cuts Ross off from West Coast Wilderness Trail for another summer
A small West Coast community is facing another summer cut off from a popular ‘Great Ride’ due to a bridge closure. The West Coast Wilderness Cycle Trail has been a boon for Ross, bringing thousands of cyclists to the region.
However, last August, the historic Totara River Rail Bridge, which connects the trail to Ross, was closed due to safety concerns, cutting off the final 15-kilometre section.
Locals breathed a sigh of relief when the government fronted $1.6 million towards a new bridge earlier this year. But with an open date not expected until next year, the community has been preparing for another season without the usual flow of cyclists.
The Historic Empire Hotel co-owner Mark Brown said wheels have been welcome in Ross. “The day they shut the bridge was a sorry day for us. We lost 20 percent of our business with pre-bookings overnight.”
West Coast Wilderness Trail coordinator Jackie Gurden said roughly 15,000 to 16,000 people cycled at least part of the trail each year, contributing between $15-20 million in direct spend to the region. Read more from RNZ.
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