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Trekkers have recounted facing "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities reported 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 visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had almost covered the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the fear of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as snow quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to remove it hourly. They chose to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"On the way, we encountered our guide's father who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the storm was heavy in the valley 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 sites on the neighboring side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online depicted tents buried in snow and lines of hikers moving through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – a few tumbled, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, approximately 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 additional remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Local news reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

There was minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The weather also appears to have have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a busy period for the area, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

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

The local tourism authority said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Torrential downpours caused landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.