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Trekkers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated that around 350 individuals had descended safely 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 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, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping numerous of people at campsites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my trekking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on social media, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the snow had almost buried the top," said a hiker on a social platform. "It was the first time I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as snow rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. It was then we learned the snow was heavy in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters covered by snow and lines of trekkers moving through waist-high snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," said one, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village 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 contacted, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had impacted individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and media entry is restricted. The weather also seemed to have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a peak season for the area, with usually calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had never encountered conditions like this in the fall. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.