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Hikers have described facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Chinese authorities stated that around 350 individuals had descended safely 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.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest weather I've experienced in all my hiking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated 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 covered the peak," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as snow quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we learned the storm was intense in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring 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 depicted tents buried in snow and lines of trekkers moving through deep drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates said. Local news reported that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or updated information about the operation on the following day. It was also not clear 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 media entry is limited. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

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

"The guide said he had not experienced conditions like this in the fall. And it happened all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in the neighboring country.