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Trekkers have described encountering "extreme" conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Chinese authorities stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely 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.

Crowds 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, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping numerous of individuals at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme weather I've experienced in all my trekking experiences, without question," Dong Shuchang said on social media, describing a "intense blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the snow had almost buried the top," said another trekker on a social platform. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the fear of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker said their party had been "too scared to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. It was then we discovered the snow was intense in the valley too; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned."

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the neighboring side of the border and draws large crowds of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed shelters covered by snow and rows of trekkers walking through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path extremely slippery. Hikers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that everyone made it down and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 people had reached Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibet-side starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the updates said. Local news reported that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and clear snow from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on Monday. It was also not clear if the storm had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The region is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is limited. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the area, with typically clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, among 18 members of a trekking group that returned to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had not experienced such weather in the fall. And it occurred very abruptly."

The regional travel department announced ticket sales and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Torrential downpours caused landslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in the neighboring country.