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Trekkers have described encountering "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Officials in China reported that around 350 people had descended safely 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.

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

"It was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "intense snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the snow had almost buried the peak," shared another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the first time I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide's father who had come looking for him. That's when we discovered the storm was heavy in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of tourists for less technical hiking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted tents covered by snow and lines of hikers moving through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, others were bumped by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

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 reached, the reports said. Local news reported that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was minimal updates or new details about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a peak season for the area, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide said he had never encountered conditions like this in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

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