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Hikers have recounted encountering "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Officials in China stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on the weekend, trapping numerous of people at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest weather I've ever faced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker stated on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost buried the top," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the storm was heavy in the lowlands too; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

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

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet depicted tents covered by snow and rows of trekkers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail very slick. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, 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 Tibetan starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports said. Local news reported that hundreds of rescuers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or updated information about the operation on Monday. It was also not clear if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with usually clear and mild weather, but one trekker, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had never encountered such weather in the fall. And it happened all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused landslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.