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Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unseasonable snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods stranded hundreds of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Officials in China reported that approximately 350 people had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Crowds of tourists had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, stranding numerous of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've ever faced in all my trekking adventures, without question," a Chinese trekker said on Weibo, detailing a "violent convective blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and noticed that the snow had almost covered the peak," said another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I truly felt 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 chose to go down on the next day as the conditions worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. It was then we learned the storm was intense in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to contact their children 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 tourists for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video posted online showed tents covered by snow and lines of trekkers walking through deep snowbanks to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail very slick. Hikers often slipped – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," noted a trekker, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Latest Developments

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

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

There was minimal updates or new details about the operation on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, and media entry is restricted. The weather also seemed to have disrupted phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Weather Patterns

Autumn is a peak season for the region, with usually clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, among 18 participants of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, said that the weather this year was "not normal."

"The guide told us he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."

The regional travel department said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Heavy rains triggered mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and claimed the lives of at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal.