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Hikers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends trapped hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated 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 traveled to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping numerous of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"It was the harshest weather I've experienced in all my trekking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, detailing a "intense snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the accumulation had nearly buried the peak," shared a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the first time I genuinely experienced the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their party had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, compelling them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we discovered the snow was heavy in the valley too; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the neighboring side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for easier hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and lines of trekkers walking through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the path extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," noted a trekker, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Local news reported that scores of rescuers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. It was also not clear if the storm had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the area, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "unusual."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Regional Impact

Neighbouring countries were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours caused mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.