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Hikers have recounted facing "harsh" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest holiday weekends 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 eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of tourists had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long holiday period in China. However, Chinese authorities, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," a Chinese trekker stated on Weibo, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and noticed that the snow had almost buried the peak," shared another trekker on a social platform. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Eyewitness Reports

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the weather worsened.

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

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage posted online depicted tents covered by snow and lines of trekkers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail very slick. Trekkers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who added that everyone made it down and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

At least 200 more remained trapped but had been contacted, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of rescuers had gone up the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.

Officials provided little official reporting 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 region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is restricted. The weather also seemed to have disrupted local communications, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

October is a busy period for the region, with typically clear and mild weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had never encountered conditions like this in October. And it happened very abruptly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in the neighboring country.