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Trekkers have described encountering "extreme" conditions after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's most crowded festive periods trapped hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed heavy snowfall had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, stranding hundreds of individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my hiking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on Weibo, detailing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and noticed that the accumulation had nearly buried the peak," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China mentioned their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"On the way, we met our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the storm was heavy in the valley too; locals, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The northern and eastern side of Everest is more accessible than sites on the neighboring side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

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

"It was very deep, and the trail very slick. Trekkers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the reports indicated. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to assist those trapped and clear snow from obstructing the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had impacted individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The weather also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. Several trekkers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

Autumn is a busy period for the area, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.