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Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the remaining adventurers near the eastern slopes of Everest in the Tibet region to safety, along with scores of native guides and yak herders, officials stated. This concludes one of the biggest rescue and recovery missions ever seen in the area.

Large-Scale Evacuation Operation Concluded

Several hundred of hikers were left stranded in heavy snow over the recent weekend in the isolated Karma valley, after an exceptionally powerful winter blast dumped heavy snowfall across the territory.

Snow continued to fall all day Saturday in the valley, which sits at an typical altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescuers had escorted approximately 350 hikers to a safe zone.

Earlier reports had indicated that the last group of roughly 200 individuals were expected to reach safety by Tuesday.

In total, 580 mountaineers, coupled with more than 300 local guides, livestock herders, and other assistants were brought out, according to official reports released on Tuesday evening.

Those Rescued Describe Extreme Conditions

One from China hiker described how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

“On the way, we met our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we found out the snow was deep in the valley, too; community members, not able to contact their children on the mountain, were very anxious.”

Climbing Schedules Disrupted

The snowstorm also thwarted the plans of mountaineers escorted by a American mountaineering outfit to reach the top of Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between China and Nepal.

Visitor Growth in the Region

Karma valley was first visited by international explorers a century ago. In recent years, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent tourism draw, the area has attracted an rising number of travelers. More than 540,000 sightseers visited the Everest region last year, setting a all-time high.

Area Remains Closed

The Everest region is still currently inaccessible to the general public, including the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Impact

The significant snowfall over the weekend also impacted hundreds of trekkers in other parts of western China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one traveler died, due to a combination of hypothermia and altitude sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a peak season for the area, with usually clear and pleasant weather, but one member of an 18-person trekking group that made it back to Qudang noted that the weather this year was “atypical.”