Every Single Mountaineers Currently Out of Danger Following Days Stranded in Intense Snowstorm

Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the last hikers near the east-facing slopes of Everest in Tibet to security, including numerous of local guides and yak herders, officials announced. This concludes one of the largest rescue and recovery efforts ever undertaken in the region.

Massive Rescue Operation Completed

Numerous of trekkers were found themselves stuck in deep snow over the weekend in the secluded Karma valley, after an unexpectedly fierce blizzard deposited substantial snowfall across the region.

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

Initial updates had estimated that the remaining roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach safety by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 local guides, livestock herders, and other crew members were brought out, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday evening.

Those Rescued Recount Harsh Conditions

One from China trekker described how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, obliging them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to move to lower ground on Sunday as the weather worsened.

“On the way, we came across our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we found out the snow was heavy in the valley, too; villagers, not able to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.”

Climbing Schedules Thwarted

The severe weather also thwarted the objectives of mountaineers escorted by a American expedition company to reach the top of Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between China and the nation of Nepal.

Tourism Increase in the Region

Karma valley was first discovered by western travelers a century ago. In recent years, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a major travel draw, the area has attracted an increasing number of travelers. More than 540,000 sightseers explored the Everest region last year, marking a new record.

Region Remains Closed

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

Broader Impact

The intense snowfall over the weekend also affected hundreds of hikers in other parts of the western regions of China, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one person lost their life, due to a combination of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness.

Unusual Weather

October is typically a high season for the area, with typically fine and mild weather, but one member of an 18-person hiking party that made it back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “not normal.”