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Trekkers have recounted encountering "extreme" situations after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Chinese authorities reported that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely 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.

Crowds of visitors had traveled to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long 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 individuals at tent sites at an altitude of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've ever faced in all my trekking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and noticed that the snow had nearly buried the peak," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the first time 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 accumulation quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to clear it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on the next day as the conditions worsened.

"On the way, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. That's when we learned the snow was intense in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

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

Visual Evidence

Photos and video shared on the internet depicted shelters covered by snow and lines of hikers walking through waist-high snowbanks to descend the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, some were jostled by yaks," said one, who added that everyone made it down and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," state media reported.

No fewer than 200 more remained trapped but had been reached, the reports indicated. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. It was also not clear if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also appears to have have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers reported power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "not normal."

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

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

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.