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Trekkers have described facing "harsh" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue operation.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities reported that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 were still trapped 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 journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of individuals 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, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker said on social media, describing a "violent convective snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and saw that the snow had nearly covered the peak," said another trekker on a social platform. "It was the first time I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as snow quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on the next day as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we met our guide’s parent who had searched for him. That's when we discovered the storm was intense in the valley too; villagers, 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 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 shared on the internet showed shelters buried in snow and rows of trekkers moving through deep snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"It was very deep, and the path very slick. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," said one, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "safe and sound," official sources reported.

At least 200 additional were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports said. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also appears to have 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 region, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

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

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

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.