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Hikers have recounted encountering "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that around 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of people at campsites 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 trekking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on social media, detailing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had almost buried the peak," said a hiker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the fear of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on Sunday as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the snow was intense in the valley too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of tourists for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Photos and video posted online showed shelters buried in snow and rows of hikers moving through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the updates indicated. Local news stated that scores of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained 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 limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "unusual."

"Our leader said he had never encountered such weather in the fall. And it happened very abruptly."

The local tourism authority said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in the neighboring country.