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Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Officials in China stated that around 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on social media, detailing a "violent convective snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the accumulation had almost buried the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They chose to go down on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

"On the way, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we learned the snow was intense in the valley too; villagers, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online depicted tents covered by snow and lines of hikers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the trail very slick. Hikers often slipped – a few tumbled, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 people had reached Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates said. Media outlets stated that scores of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had impacted individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 members of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"The guide told us he had not experienced conditions like this in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The regional travel department announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.