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Trekkers have described encountering "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, triggering 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 east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

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

"It was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on social media, detailing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and noticed that the snow had almost buried the peak," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I truly felt the fear of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They chose to descend on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the snow was heavy in the valley too; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage posted online depicted shelters covered by snow and lines of hikers walking through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the trail very slick. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who added that everyone made it down and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media announced.

At least 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the updates said. Media outlets reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is limited. The weather also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

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

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Regional Impact

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