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Hikers have recounted encountering "extreme" situations after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China reported that approximately 350 people 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 Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme weather I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker stated on social media, describing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had almost buried the peak," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"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; locals, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical hiking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage shared on the internet showed shelters covered by snow and rows of trekkers moving through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 additional remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Media outlets stated that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

There was minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also appears to have have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the area, with usually clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "not normal."

"The guide said he had never encountered conditions like this in October. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

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