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Hikers have described facing "harsh" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China reported that approximately 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme weather I've experienced in all my hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, describing a "violent convective snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and saw that the snow had nearly covered the peak," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it hourly. They chose to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we discovered the storm was heavy in the lowlands too; locals, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts large crowds of visitors for easier hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online depicted shelters buried in snow and lines of trekkers walking through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the path very slick. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," state media announced.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Media outlets stated that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm 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 limited. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the area, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

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

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in the neighboring country.