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Hikers have recounted encountering "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue operation.

Rescue Operations In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 350 individuals had made their way down 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.

Large groups of tourists had journeyed 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 hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, detailing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost covered the top," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the snow 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 locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Images and footage posted online depicted shelters buried in snow and lines of hikers moving through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path very slick. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who added that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Media outlets reported that scores of rescuers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the operation on Monday. It was also not clear if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 participants of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had never encountered conditions like this in October. And it happened very abruptly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.