🔗 Share this article

Search parties have safely led all of the remaining adventurers near the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to security, along with numerous of regional escorts and livestock handlers, authorities stated. This marks the end one of the biggest rescue and recovery missions ever conducted in the area.

Massive Rescue Effort Completed

Several hundred of trekkers were left stranded in deep snow over the past few days in the isolated Karma valley, after an unexpectedly fierce winter blast unleashed significant snowfall across the region.

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

Previous accounts had suggested that the remaining roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach safety by Tuesday.

In total, 580 mountaineers, coupled with more than 300 escorts, yak herders, and other support staff were brought out, according to official reports released on Tuesday night.

Those Rescued Describe Harsh Situations

One Chinese trekker recalled how their group had been “too frightened to sleep” on Saturday, as snow rapidly accumulated around their tents, obliging them to shovel it every 90 minutes. They decided to move to lower ground on Sunday as the conditions worsened.

“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, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned.”

Expedition Schedules Disrupted

The snowstorm also disrupted the objectives of climbers led by a American mountaineering outfit to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the boundary between China and Nepal.

Visitor Growth in the Area

Karma valley was first explored by foreign travelers a century ago. In modern times, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent visitor attraction, the area has drawn an rising number of visitors. More than 540,000 sightseers traveled to the Everest region last year, setting a all-time high.

Area Remains Closed

The Everest region remains for the time being closed to the public, covering the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Effect

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

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a peak season for the area, with normally sunny and moderate weather, but one trekker of an 18-person hiking party that returned safely to Qudang noted that the weather this year was “unusual.”