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Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the remaining adventurers near the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in the Tibet region to a secure location, including hundreds of regional escorts and animal tenders, local government stated. This marks the end one of the largest rescue and recovery missions ever conducted in the region.

Massive Evacuation Effort Completed

Several hundred of explorers were found themselves stuck in heavy snow over the past few days in the secluded Karma valley, after an unexpectedly fierce blizzard deposited significant snowfall across the territory.

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

Previous accounts had indicated that the last group of roughly 200 hikers were projected to reach a secure area by Tuesday.

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

Those Rescued Describe Severe Conditions

One Chinese hiker recalled how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow quickly piled up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They opted to descend on Sunday as the weather deteriorated.

“On the way, we came across our guide’s father, who had come looking for him. That’s when we found out the snow was intense in the valley, too; local residents, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were very anxious.”

Expedition Schedules Thwarted

The snowstorm also hindered the objectives of alpinists led by a American mountaineering company to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between China and Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Region

Karma valley was first visited by western explorers a hundred years ago. In recent years, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent tourism draw, the area has attracted an rising number of tourists. More than 540,000 tourists traveled to the Everest region last year, marking a unprecedented number.

Area Still Closed

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

Wider Effect

The significant snowfall over the weekend also affected hundreds of trekkers in other parts of western China, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Sadly, at least one individual succumbed, due to a combination of low body temperature and altitude sickness.

Atypical Weather

October is typically a peak season for the area, with usually clear and moderate weather, but one participant of an 18-person trekking group that returned safely to Qudang noted that the weather this year was “not normal.”