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Hikers have described encountering "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China reported that around 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side 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 festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected 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).

"It was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my hiking experiences, without question," a Chinese trekker said on social media, detailing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the top," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the weather worsened.

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

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

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online showed shelters covered by snow and lines of trekkers walking through waist-high drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the trail very slick. Hikers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by yaks," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, about 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," state media announced.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided minimal updates or updated information about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is strictly regulated by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The conditions also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. Several trekkers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a busy period for the area, with typically calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had not experienced conditions like this in the fall. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.