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Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue operation.

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 eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the peak," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather worsened.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the storm was intense in the valley too; villagers, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for easier trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Photos and video shared on the internet depicted shelters buried in snow and lines of hikers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail very slick. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who clarified that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

At least 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates said. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or new details about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a busy period for the region, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 participants of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The regional travel department said ticket sales and access to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Regional Impact

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.