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Hikers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on the weekend, trapping numerous of people 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," Dong Shuchang said on social media, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and noticed that the accumulation had nearly covered the top," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it hourly. 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. That's when we discovered the snow was heavy in the valley as well; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Photos and video shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and rows of trekkers walking through waist-high snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the updates indicated. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from obstructing the way out.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the operation on the following day. It was also not clear if the weather had impacted individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a peak season for the area, with usually clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a hiking party that returned 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 halted from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by extreme weather. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.