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Hikers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Officials in China reported that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed 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).

"This was the harshest weather I've ever faced in all my trekking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, detailing a "intense snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

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

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend 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 storm was intense in the lowlands too; locals, unable to contact 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 tourists for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet depicted tents covered by snow and lines of hikers walking through deep drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path very slick. Hikers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports said. Local news reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected anyone on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The weather also seemed to have affected local communications, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the region, with usually clear and mild weather, 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 not experienced conditions like this in October. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were also hit by severe conditions. Heavy rains triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.