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Hikers have recounted facing "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.

Rescue Operations In Progress

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

Crowds of tourists had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had nearly buried the peak," said another trekker on a social platform. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to clear it hourly. They decided to go down on Sunday as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had searched for him. That's when we learned the snow was intense in the lowlands too; locals, 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 neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of visitors for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters buried in snow and lines of trekkers walking through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

There was minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also appears to have have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a peak season 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, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.