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Trekkers have described encountering "harsh" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped numerous 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 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

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

"This was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my trekking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had nearly buried the peak," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it hourly. They chose to go down on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had searched for him. That's when we discovered the storm was heavy in the valley too; locals, unable to contact 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 draws large crowds of tourists for less technical hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online showed shelters covered by snow and lines of hikers moving through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path very slick. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," state media announced.

No fewer than 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates said. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the way out.

There was little official reporting or new details 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 area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The weather also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a peak season for the region, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

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

The regional travel department said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Torrential downpours caused mudslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.