All Trekkers Now Out of Danger Following Days Trapped in Intense Winter Storm

Emergency crews have successfully guided all of the remaining hikers near the east-facing slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to safety, including scores of regional escorts and animal tenders, local government announced. This concludes one of the biggest rescue and recovery operations ever seen in the zone.

Large-Scale Rescue Operation Concluded

Hundreds of trekkers were left stranded in deep snow over the past few days in the remote Karma valley, after an unusually fierce blizzard deposited significant snowfall across the region.

Snow continued to fall throughout Saturday in the valley, which sits at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescue personnel had led approximately 350 hikers to safety.

Earlier reports had indicated that the remaining roughly 200 hikers were projected to reach their destination by Tuesday.

In total, 580 trekkers, coupled with more than 300 guides, livestock herders, and other support staff were rescued, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday late in the day.

Those Rescued Recount Extreme Situations

One from China hiker recalled how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow quickly piled up around their tents, obliging them to remove it every 90 minutes. They opted to move to lower ground on Sunday as the weather worsened.

“On the way, we met our guide’s father, who had come looking for him. That’s when we learned 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 goals of climbers guided by a United States climbing outfit 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 Area

Karma valley was first visited by western adventurers a long time ago. In modern times, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a major travel draw, the area has brought in an rising number of visitors. More than 540,000 visitors traveled to the Everest region last year, marking a all-time high.

Region Still Off-Limits

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

Wider Impact

The heavy snowfall over the weekend also impacted numerous of trekkers in other parts of the western regions of China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one person lost their life, due to a blend of low body temperature and altitude sickness.

Unusual Weather

October is typically a high season for the area, with normally clear and moderate weather, but one member of an 18-person expedition team that returned safely to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “not normal.”