It was only when Ren He saw how quickly the sky was darkening that he realized why veteran climbers emphasized to descend by 1 pm, at the latest by 2 pm.
Indeed, Ren He had summitted at 12:10 pm and started descending at 12:25 pm. His descent was early enough, but when he reached the Hillary Platform at 12:30 pm and waited there for a full 40 minutes, everything was already too late.
Actually, when he reached the summit, he had also paid attention to the weather. The sky, which had been clear an hour ago, was now covered with dark clouds, and the place from where the clouds had approached was still vivid in his memory. At 12:10 pm, that area was still misty with streaks of clouds and had been no different from other places.
But that's just how unpredictable the weather on Mount Everest is; otherwise, it wouldn't cause so many people anxiety.
