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Trekkers have described facing "harsh" situations after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's most crowded festive periods stranded numerous of individuals on Mount Everest, triggering a large-scale rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts In Progress

Chinese authorities stated that around 350 individuals had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the eastern side of the mountain, on the Tibet side of the border.

Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, Chinese authorities, who control the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on the weekend, trapping numerous of people at tent sites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the harshest weather I've experienced in all my hiking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, detailing a "intense blizzard on the east face" of Everest.

"I looked up in the late hours and saw that the accumulation had almost covered the top," shared a hiker on a social platform. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being engulfed by snow."

Personal Accounts

A hiker from China said their group had been "too scared to sleep" on Saturday as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had come looking for him. That's when we learned the storm was intense in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to reach their family on the mountain, were extremely worried."

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

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet showed tents covered by snow and rows of hikers walking through waist-high drifts to get down the mountain.

"The snow was extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Trekkers often slipped – a few tumbled, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who added that all safely descended and were transported by bus.

Current Status

By Sunday afternoon, approximately 350 individuals had reached Qudang, a village about 30 miles away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

No fewer than 200 more were still stranded but had been reached, the updates indicated. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had ascended the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from obstructing the exit route.

There was minimal updates or updated information about the operation on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had impacted anyone on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the authorities, and journalistic access is limited. The conditions also seemed to have affected phone services, with attempts to contact shops failing. A number of hikers 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, one of 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, said that the climate this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in the fall. And it happened very abruptly."

The regional travel department said admissions and access to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from the weekend.

Broader Effects

Neighbouring countries were also hit by severe conditions. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, destroyed crossings, and killed at least 47 people since the start of the weekend in Nepal.