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Emergency crews have successfully guided all of the last trekkers near the east-facing slopes of Everest in Tibet to safety, including numerous of regional escorts and yak herders, local government announced. This wraps up one of the biggest rescue and recovery missions ever seen in the zone.

Massive Evacuation Operation Concluded

Numerous of explorers were left stranded in heavy snow over the weekend in the remote Karma valley, after an unexpectedly powerful snowstorm dumped heavy snowfall across the territory.

Snow kept coming down throughout Saturday in the valley, which sits 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 indicated that the last group of roughly 200 travelers were expected to reach safety by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 escorts, animal handlers, and other support staff were evacuated, according to authoritative reports released on Tuesday evening.

Those Rescued Describe Extreme Situations

One Chinese hiker recalled how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow quickly piled up around their tents, compelling them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to go down on Sunday as the conditions deteriorated.

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

Expedition Schedules Thwarted

The blizzard also disrupted the goals of mountaineers escorted by a US-based expedition firm to ascend Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between the People's Republic of China and the nation of Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Region

Karma valley was first explored by foreign travelers a long time ago. In modern times, with the expansion of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent visitor draw, the area has drawn an increasing number of tourists. More than 540,000 visitors traveled to the Everest region last year, establishing a new record.

Area Remains Off-Limits

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

Wider Impact

The significant snowfall over the weekend also affected hundreds of trekkers in other parts of western China, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one individual died, due to a mix of low body temperature and acute mountain sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a busy season for the area, with usually fine and moderate weather, but one member of an 18-person expedition team that got back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “not normal.”