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Trekkers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods trapped numerous of people on Mount Everest, sparking a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Chinese authorities stated that around 350 people had made their way down 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.

Large groups of tourists had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an week-long festive break in China. However, local officials, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had hit the area on the weekend, stranding hundreds of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest conditions I've experienced in all my hiking experiences, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "intense snowstorm on the east face" of Everest.

"Glancing upward in the late hours and saw that the snow had almost covered the top," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the fear of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

One Chinese trekker mentioned their group had been "too frightened to sleep" on Saturday as snow rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it hourly. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

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

The north and east side of Everest is more accessible than locations on the Nepal side of the border and attracts large crowds of tourists for less technical trekking, without summiting the peak.

Online Documentation

Photos and video shared on the internet showed tents buried in snow and lines of hikers walking through deep drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was very deep, and the path very slick. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who added that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Latest Developments

By the weekend, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibet-side base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the reports said. Media outlets stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and clear snow from obstructing the exit route.

There was little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the storm had impacted individuals on the north face of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and media entry is limited. The conditions also appears to have have disrupted local communications, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers said power was out in Qudang when they arrived.

Weather Patterns

October is a peak season for the region, with typically clear and mild conditions, but Chen Geshuang, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the climate this year was "unusual."

"Our leader said he had never encountered conditions like this in the fall. And it occurred all too suddenly."

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

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered landslides and sudden flooding that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.