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Trekkers have recounted facing "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of people at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, detailing a "violent convective snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the accumulation had nearly covered the peak," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the fear of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on Sunday as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the storm was intense in the valley too; villagers, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for easier hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online showed shelters buried in snow and lines of hikers walking through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Media outlets reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the way out.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also seemed to have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the region, with typically calm and pleasant conditions, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "unusual."

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

The local tourism authority said ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Broader Effects

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