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Trekkers have recounted encountering "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded 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 control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping numerous of people at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme weather I've ever faced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, describing a "violent convective snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had almost buried the top," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the snow was intense in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of tourists for less technical hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online depicted shelters buried in snow and rows of hikers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 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.

At least 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports indicated. Local news reported that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the area, with typically clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 members of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader told us 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 Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.