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Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the last trekkers near the eastern slopes of Everest in the Tibet region to a secure location, including scores of regional escorts and animal tenders, officials reported. This concludes one of the largest rescue and recovery missions ever undertaken in the region.

Large-Scale Evacuation Operation Concluded

Numerous of hikers were found themselves stuck in heavy snow over the weekend in the secluded Karma valley, after an unusually powerful winter blast deposited significant snowfall across the area.

Snow kept coming down all day Saturday in the valley, which rests at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescuers had guided approximately 350 hikers to a safe zone.

Initial updates had estimated that the last group of roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach a secure area by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, in addition to more than 300 escorts, livestock herders, and other assistants were rescued, according to government announcements released on Tuesday late in the day.

Those Rescued Describe Severe Situations

One from China trekker described how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow rapidly accumulated around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They chose to move to lower ground on Sunday as the conditions became more severe.

“On the way, we encountered 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 deeply concerned.”

Expedition Schedules Thwarted

The severe weather also thwarted the plans of mountaineers guided by a United States expedition firm to ascend Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between the People's Republic of China and the nation of Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Area

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

Area Remains Closed

The Everest region continues to be currently inaccessible to the general public, encompassing the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Broader Impact

The intense snowfall over the weekend also impacted numerous of hikers in other parts of the western regions of China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one traveler lost their life, due to a blend of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a busy season for the area, with usually fine and pleasant weather, but one participant of an 18-person trekking group that made it back to Qudang commented that the weather this year was “not normal.”