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Trekkers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed heavy snowfall had affected 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).

"This was the harshest conditions I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on social media, describing a "intense snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the top," said another trekker on Xiaohongshu. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to clear it hourly. They chose to descend on the next day as the weather deteriorated.

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

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

Online Documentation

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

"It was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who clarified that everyone made it down and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 additional remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or new details about the operation on the following day. It was also not clear if the storm had impacted individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

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

"Our leader said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

The regional travel department announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.