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Trekkers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Chinese authorities stated that approximately 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme weather I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, without question," a Chinese trekker said on social media, detailing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost buried the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

"On the way, we encountered our guide's father who had searched for him. That's when we discovered the storm was intense in the valley as well; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for easier hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

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

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

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

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had impacted individuals on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a peak season for the area, with typically clear and mild weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

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

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Torrential downpours caused landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.