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Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the last adventurers near the east-facing slopes of Mount Everest in the Tibet region to a secure location, including scores of native guides and animal tenders, officials stated. This wraps up one of the largest rescue and recovery efforts ever seen in the area.

Massive Evacuation Effort Completed

Hundreds of explorers were left stranded in deep snow over the past few days in the isolated Karma valley, after an unexpectedly powerful snowstorm dumped heavy snowfall across the territory.

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

Initial updates had indicated that the last group of roughly 200 individuals were expected to reach their destination by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 local guides, animal handlers, and other assistants were rescued, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday night.

Survivors Describe Severe Situations

One Chinese trekker described how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow rapidly accumulated around their tents, obliging them to remove it every 90 minutes. They opted to move to lower ground on Sunday as the situation worsened.

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

Climbing Plans Thwarted

The severe weather also disrupted the goals of alpinists escorted by a United States mountaineering company to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between China and the nation of Nepal.

Tourism Growth in the Region

Karma valley was first discovered by foreign travelers a century ago. In modern times, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a major visitor draw, the area has drawn an rising number of tourists. More than 540,000 tourists visited the Everest region last year, setting a new record.

Area Still Closed

The Everest region remains temporarily off-limits to the general public, covering the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Wider Effect

The significant snowfall over the weekend also influenced many of trekkers in other parts of western China, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one traveler died, due to a blend of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness.

Atypical Weather

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