Image: Mountains of Travel Photos

Get me outta here! That’s what a couple thousand tourists are saying today...and for good reason. They’re stranded in the slopes of Mount Everest due to bad weather. Here’s KOIN.

“Small helicopters managed to get 800 others out of a small village in Nepal before it became unsafe to fly. They’ve got thick fog there, snow, and cold.”

After the snow storm hit--Nepalise airline officials closed down the only airstrip that could fly folks in and out of the Everest area, Lukla Airport in Nepal...turning tourists into survival mode.

“A lot of those climbers are stuck sleeping in their tents and their dining halls around the area because hotels quickly filled up.”

According to Truth Dive, it all started several days ago and has only gotten worse.

“The build-up of stranded people started in Lukla in late- October when only limited flights were operated, also due to bad weather. But from October 31, no flight was conducted at all, thus swelling up the number of visitors in the village....”

Nepalise rescue officials say the only other alternative is to wait for the weather to improve. But, Nepal’s Republica reports a few hundred hikers have set out on foot.

“Some tourists are said to be walking down to Jiri, which is 5-7 days walk from Lukla while others are simply waiting for the weather to turn better.”

Government efforts to rescue the 2,500 stranded tourists were set to begin Saturday. But, reports of even worse weather conditions stopped the Nepal Army from flying a helicopter to Lukla.

“The army had hoped to deploy its rescue helicopter, which carries 30 to 40 people, but bad weather has prevented it from accessing Lukla...’Small helicopters are only carrying six to seven passengers in a flight,’”

The stranded tourists include Americans, Britons and Germans. On a normal day, some 500 passengers would fly in and out of the airport.