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Trekkers have described facing "extreme" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of individuals at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had nearly buried the top," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on Sunday as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we learned the snow was intense in the valley as well; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of tourists for easier hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and lines of trekkers moving through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 people had reached Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

At least 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also seemed to have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the area, with typically calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had not experienced such weather in October. And it happened very abruptly."

The local tourism authority said admissions and access to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.