🔗 Share this article

Emergency crews have safely led all of the last adventurers near the east-facing slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to a secure location, along with numerous of local guides and animal tenders, authorities announced. This concludes one of the biggest search-and-rescue missions ever seen in the area.

Large-Scale Rescue Effort Completed

Several hundred of explorers were left stranded in deep snow over the recent weekend in the secluded Karma valley, after an unexpectedly fierce blizzard dumped heavy snowfall across the region.

Snow persisted throughout Saturday in the valley, which sits at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescue personnel had escorted approximately 350 hikers to safety.

Initial updates had suggested that the remaining roughly 200 travelers were expected to reach their destination by Tuesday.

In total, 580 mountaineers, in addition to more than 300 escorts, animal handlers, and other crew members were evacuated, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday late in the day.

Those Rescued Recount Harsh Conditions

One from China traveler shared how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow quickly piled up around their tents, obliging them to shovel it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the weather became more severe.

“On the way, we came across our guide’s father, who had set out for him. That’s when we realized the snow was intense in the valley, too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.”

Expedition Plans Thwarted

The severe weather also hindered the objectives of climbers guided by a United States mountaineering outfit to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between China and Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Region

Karma valley was first visited by foreign adventurers a century ago. In modern times, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent travel attraction, the area has drawn an growing number of travelers. More than 540,000 sightseers visited the Everest region last year, establishing a all-time high.

Area Remains Closed

The Everest region continues to be temporarily off-limits to the public, encompassing the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Effect

The significant snowfall over the weekend also influenced many of hikers in other parts of western China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one traveler died, due to a blend of low body temperature and altitude sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a peak season for the area, with normally fine and moderate weather, but one participant of an 18-person expedition team that got back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “atypical.”