Hikers have recounted facing "extreme" conditions after an unexpected blizzard during one of China's busiest holiday weekends trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue operation.
Chinese authorities stated that approximately 350 individuals had descended safely but at least 200 were still trapped at the Everest Scenic Area, located to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.
Large groups of visitors had journeyed to the area for "Golden Week," an eight-day festive break in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, confirmed intense snow had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals 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 hiking adventures, without question," Dong Shuchang stated on social media, describing a "violent convective snowstorm on the eastern slope" of Everest.
"Glancing upward in the late hours and noticed that the snow had nearly covered the peak," said a hiker on Xiaohongshu. "That was the initial instance I truly felt the terror of being buried alive."
A hiker from China mentioned their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation rapidly built up around their tents, compelling them to clear it hourly. They chose to descend on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.
"On the way, we encountered our guide's father who had come looking for him. It was then we learned the storm was heavy in the lowlands as well; locals, unable to reach their children on the mountain, were extremely worried."
The northern and eastern side of Everest is easier to reach than locations on the Nepal side of the border and draws high numbers of tourists for less technical hiking, not requiring ascent of the peak.
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 extremely thick, and the trail extremely slippery. Hikers stumbled frequently – some fell, others were bumped by yaks," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.
By the weekend, about 350 individuals had arrived in Qudang, a village roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources announced.
At least 200 more were still stranded but had been contacted, the reports said. Local news reported that scores of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to help people and remove accumulation from blocking the exit route.
Officials provided little official reporting or new details about the rescue effort on Monday. Uncertainty remained if the weather had affected individuals on the northern side of Everest, also in Tibet. The area is strictly regulated by the Chinese government, and journalistic access is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses not connecting. Several trekkers reported electricity was cut in Qudang when they reached the town.
October is a peak season for the region, with usually calm and pleasant weather, but one trekker, among 18 participants of a trekking group that made it back to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."
"Our leader told us he had never encountered such weather in the fall. And it occurred very abruptly."
The regional travel department said admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were halted from Saturday.
Adjacent nations were also hit by extreme weather. Torrential downpours caused mudslides and sudden flooding that have closed routes, destroyed crossings, and claimed the lives of at least 47 individuals since Friday in the neighboring country.
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