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Trekkers have described facing "extreme" situations after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded numerous of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Chinese authorities stated that around 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme weather I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "intense snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the accumulation had nearly buried the peak," said a hiker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as snow quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"On the way, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we learned the storm was heavy in the lowlands too; locals, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the Nepal side of the border and attracts large crowds of tourists for easier hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters covered by snow and rows of hikers walking through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from blocking the way out.

There was minimal updates or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The weather also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a busy period for the area, with typically calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"The guide said he had never encountered conditions like this in the fall. And it occurred all too suddenly."

The regional travel department announced ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.