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Hikers have described facing "harsh" situations after an unseasonable blizzard during one of China's most crowded holiday weekends stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Rescue Operations Underway

Officials in China stated that around 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had hit the area on the weekend, trapping hundreds of people at campsites 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, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, detailing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had almost buried the top," shared a hiker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China said their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to go down on Sunday as the weather worsened.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we learned the snow was heavy in the lowlands too; villagers, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."

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

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet showed shelters covered by snow and rows of trekkers walking through deep drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the trail very slick. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, some were jostled by pack animals," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a small town about 30 miles away from the Tibetan starting point of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the updates indicated. Local news reported that hundreds of rescuers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

Officials provided little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. Uncertainty remained if the storm had affected individuals on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The region is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The weather also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops not connecting. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they reached the town.

Seasonal Context

October is a peak season for the area, with usually calm and pleasant conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 members of a hiking party that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "unusual."

"The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Heavy rains caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in Nepal.