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Trekkers have recounted encountering "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Officials in China reported that approximately 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had journeyed 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 hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding numerous of individuals at campsites 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 hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had nearly covered the top," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we met our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we learned the storm was intense in the valley too; locals, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for easier trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online depicted shelters covered by snow and rows of trekkers walking through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 additional remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports indicated. Media outlets reported that scores of rescuers had gone up the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the way out.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. It was also not clear if the storm 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 limited. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. A number of hikers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the area, with usually clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "unusual."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and access to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 people since Friday in the neighboring country.