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Hikers have described encountering "extreme" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of people on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities stated that approximately 350 people had descended safely 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.

Large groups of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of people at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, without question," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

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

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, compelling them to clear it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we discovered the storm was heavy in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and rows of hikers walking through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by pack animals," said one, who added 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 roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

At least 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates said. Media outlets reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or new details about the operation on Monday. It was also not clear if the storm had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the region, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced conditions like this in October. And it occurred very abruptly."

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

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.