All Trekkers Now Out of Danger After Days Caught in Intense Winter Storm

Search parties have successfully guided all of the remaining hikers near the east-facing slopes of Mount Everest in the Tibet region to a secure location, including scores of regional escorts and yak herders, local government stated. This concludes one of the biggest rescue and recovery efforts ever conducted in the area.

Large-Scale Rescue Operation Concluded

Numerous of hikers were found themselves stuck in thick snow over the recent weekend in the remote Karma valley, after an exceptionally fierce winter blast unleashed substantial snowfall across the territory.

Snow kept coming down all day Saturday in the valley, which rests at an mean altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescuers had escorted approximately 350 hikers to safety.

Initial updates had estimated that the last group of roughly 200 individuals were expected to reach a secure area by Tuesday.

In total, 580 mountaineers, in addition to more than 300 guides, animal handlers, and other assistants were evacuated, according to government announcements released on Tuesday evening.

Survivors Describe Harsh Situations

One Chinese hiker recalled how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They decided to descend on Sunday as the conditions 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 heavy in the valley, too; villagers, incapable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.”

Expedition Plans Thwarted

The snowstorm also hindered the objectives of alpinists led by a United States mountaineering firm to ascend Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between the People's Republic of China and Nepal.

Visitor Growth in the Region

Karma valley was first explored by international travelers a century ago. In modern times, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent visitor draw, the area has drawn an increasing number of visitors. More than 540,000 sightseers explored the Everest region last year, establishing a all-time high.

Area Still Closed

The Everest region is still currently inaccessible to the public, encompassing the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Effect

The intense snowfall over the weekend also influenced numerous of hikers in other parts of the western regions of China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one person died, due to a mix of low body temperature and high-altitude illness.

Unusual Conditions

October is typically a busy season for the area, with normally fine and mild weather, but one trekker of an 18-person expedition team that made it back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “unusual.”