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Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 individuals 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.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, without question," a Chinese trekker said on social media, detailing a "violent convective blizzard 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 another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as snow rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it hourly. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"On the way, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the storm was heavy in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the neighboring side of the border and attracts large crowds of visitors for easier trekking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Photos and video shared on the internet showed tents buried in snow and lines of trekkers moving through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media announced.

At least 200 additional remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds 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 the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had impacted individuals on the northern side 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 affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with typically calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader said he had not experienced conditions like this in October. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were also hit by extreme weather. Heavy rains triggered mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.