Survivors of a Himalayan blizzard that killed at least 29 people in Nepal said they dived under a boulder to shelter from an avalanche.
A police official said 154 people have been rescued following the storm, including 76 foreigners, while ten people remain missing and are presumed to be dead.
Mountain rescue teams armed with shovels, ropes and ice axes are scouring an area buried by up to 1.2m deep to search for the remaining missing hikers.
Coming six months after an ice-avalanche killed 16 sherpa guides on Mount Everest in April, the latest mountain disaster has prompted criticism of the Nepali government.
A group of seven Canadian trekkers and their Nepali guides were near the high-altitude village of Phu, 150km northwest of Kathmandu, when an avalanche struck yesterday.
Four were killed immediately. The group's guide, Kusang Sherpa, described the sound of snow splitting above and said he and three of the trekkers were able to leap behind the rock.
He told reporters: "I thought it was the last day in my life," after being evacuated to Kathmandu. "I was lucky that I survived with my three clients."
The snow did not reach the boulder, but they stayed there for about 20 minutes until they were sure the avalanche had stabilised, then walked an hour to a village called Kang, where they telephoned for help and were picked up by a helicopter.
Those killed by the unseasonable weather, brought by the tail end of a cyclone that struck India last weekend, included three Nepali herders, four Nepali guides, two Slovakians, three Israelis, three Polish citizens, four Canadians and three Indians.
The nationality of the rest has not been confirmed, officials said.
October is Nepal's peak trekking season, before the onset of winter, when clear skies offer safe access to the mountains and spectacular views, attracting backpackers as well as experienced climbers.
Rescue efforts focused on the highest point on a trail that loops around Annapurna, the world's 10th-highest peak.
The 240-km Annapurna circuit takes almost three weeks to complete and is perhaps the most popular walking route in the Himalayas.
It is dubbed the "apple pie" circuit because teahouses line the route offering cold beer and home baking.
The Nepali government, which collects up to $20 per trekker for a permit, came under fire from hiking officials for doing little to improve safety conditions.
"The government is happy collecting money from trekkers but doing nothing for them. It must now spend the cash for making arrangements for weather forecasts and a quick response for rescue when hikers are in distress," said Keshav Panday, an official of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal.
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains.
Income from tourism, including permit fees for trekkers, who accounted for more than 12% of 800,000 tourists in 2013, accounts for 4% of its gross domestic product.
