🔗 Share this article

Search parties have safely led all of the last trekkers near the east-facing slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to a secure location, including numerous of native guides and animal tenders, authorities reported. This wraps up one of the biggest rescue and recovery missions ever conducted in the zone.

Massive Evacuation Effort Concluded

Numerous of explorers were became trapped in deep snow over the past few days in the isolated Karma valley, after an unexpectedly powerful blizzard unleashed significant snowfall across the region.

Snow persisted all day Saturday in the valley, which rests at an typical altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, emergency teams had guided approximately 350 hikers to security.

Initial updates had indicated that the last group of roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach their destination by Tuesday.

In total, 580 trekkers, in addition to more than 300 local guides, yak herders, and other support staff were evacuated, according to authoritative reports released on Tuesday late in the day.

Those Rescued Recount Harsh Situations

One Chinese hiker recalled how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They opted to move to lower ground on Sunday as the situation worsened.

“On the way, we met our guide’s father, who had set out for him. That’s when we learned the snow was intense in the valley, too; community members, incapable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned.”

Climbing Schedules Thwarted

The blizzard also disrupted the goals of mountaineers guided by a American expedition firm to ascend Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between the People's Republic of China and the nation of Nepal.

Tourism Increase in the Area

Karma valley was first discovered by foreign explorers a century ago. In recent years, with the expansion of the Everest region in Tibet as a significant visitor draw, the area has attracted an increasing number of visitors. More than 540,000 sightseers traveled to the Everest region last year, marking a new record.

Region Still Closed

The Everest region is still for the time being off-limits to the visitors, including the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Impact

The significant snowfall over the weekend also influenced numerous of trekkers in other parts of the western regions of China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one traveler succumbed, due to a combination of low body temperature and altitude sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a busy season for the area, with typically sunny and moderate weather, but one trekker of an 18-person trekking group that returned safely to Qudang noted that the weather this year was “not normal.”