🔗 Share this article All Hikers Currently Safe After Multiple Days Caught in Powerful Blizzard Emergency crews have escorted all of the remaining trekkers near the east-facing slopes of Everest in the Tibet region to safety, including numerous of regional escorts and yak herders, authorities announced. This concludes one of the largest rescue and recovery efforts ever undertaken in the region. Large-Scale Evacuation Operation Completed Numerous of explorers were left stranded in heavy snow over the recent weekend in the secluded Karma valley, after an exceptionally fierce blizzard deposited significant snowfall across the area. Snow kept coming down throughout Saturday in the valley, which is located at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, emergency teams had guided approximately 350 hikers to safety. Earlier reports had indicated that the last group of roughly 200 travelers were anticipated to reach a secure area by Tuesday. In total, 580 trekkers, along with more than 300 escorts, yak herders, and other crew members were rescued, according to official statements released on Tuesday late in the day. Those Rescued Describe Harsh Conditions One Chinese traveler described how their group had been “too scared to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, obliging them to remove it every 90 minutes. They chose to move to lower ground on Sunday as the conditions worsened. “On the way, we came across our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we realized the snow was heavy in the valley, too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.” Expedition Schedules Thwarted The severe weather also hindered the objectives of mountaineers escorted by a United States expedition 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. Tourism Growth in the Region Karma valley was first explored by international travelers a hundred years ago. In the past few years, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a major travel attraction, the area has attracted an rising number of visitors. More than 540,000 sightseers visited the Everest region last year, establishing a new record. Region Remains Off-Limits The Everest region remains temporarily inaccessible to the public, including the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu. Wider Effect The intense snowfall over the weekend also affected numerous of hikers in other parts of the western regions of China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one individual succumbed, due to a mix of hypothermia and altitude sickness. Atypical Weather October is typically a high season for the area, with normally fine and mild weather, but one member of an 18-person expedition team that made it back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “not normal.”