Mount Everest Blizzard Traps Nearly 1,000 Hikers in Snowstorm

The world’s tallest mountain has been anthem by an unexpected storm.

Nearly 1,000 hikers were stranded on Mount Everest when a massive blizzard ravaged the range’s eastern slope in Tibet over the weekend, according to Chinese state media.

Since then, approximately 350 people have managed to safely make it down to the Tibetan town of Qudang, though rescuers said there are still hundreds of hikers remaining on the slope who “will gradually arrive at the rendezvous point,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Aside from spring, autumn is the season in which climbers typically scale Mount Everest—which stands roughly at 29,032 feet above sea level—due to optimal weather conditions. Hikers traditionally reach the summit through one of two routes: the North Col in Tibet or the South Col in Nepal.

“About one-third into the trek, it began to rain and the rain kept getting heavier,” Chen Geshuang, who was climbing on the Tibetan side, told NBC News. “Later, it turned into sleet, and eventually a full-on blizzard.”