🔗 Share this article

Search parties have escorted all of the last adventurers near the eastern slopes of Everest in Tibet to security, including numerous of local guides and livestock handlers, authorities announced. This concludes one of the largest search-and-rescue operations ever seen in the zone.

Massive Rescue Effort Concluded

Hundreds of trekkers were became trapped in deep snow over the past few days in the isolated Karma valley, after an unexpectedly intense blizzard unleashed significant snowfall across the territory.

Snow persisted throughout Saturday in the valley, which is located at an mean altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescuers had escorted approximately 350 hikers to security.

Previous accounts had suggested that the last group of roughly 200 individuals were anticipated to reach safety by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 escorts, yak herders, and other assistants were brought out, according to authoritative statements released on Tuesday night.

Those Rescued Recount Extreme Situations

One from China trekker recalled how their group had been “too frightened to sleep” on Saturday, as snow rapidly accumulated around their tents, forcing them to shovel it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on Sunday as the weather became more severe.

“On the way, we met our guide’s father, who had set out for him. That’s when we learned the snow was deep in the valley, too; local residents, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were very anxious.”

Expedition Schedules Thwarted

The snowstorm also disrupted the goals of alpinists guided by a American expedition company to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between the People's Republic of China and Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Region

Karma valley was first explored by foreign explorers a hundred years ago. In the past few years, with the expansion of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent travel attraction, the area has drawn an increasing number of visitors. More than 540,000 tourists explored the Everest region last year, establishing a all-time high.

Area Remains Closed

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

Wider Effect

The intense snowfall over the weekend also influenced many of trekkers in other parts of western China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one person lost their life, due to a combination of hypothermia and high-altitude illness.

Atypical Weather

October is typically a busy season for the area, with typically fine and pleasant weather, but one member of an 18-person trekking group that made it back to Qudang commented that the weather this year was “unusual.”