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Emergency crews have escorted all of the last trekkers near the eastern slopes of Everest in the Tibet region to a secure location, including hundreds of regional escorts and animal tenders, officials reported. This concludes one of the biggest rescue and recovery operations ever seen in the region.

Massive Rescue Operation Concluded

Numerous of hikers were found themselves stuck in deep snow over the recent weekend in the remote Karma valley, after an unexpectedly intense snowstorm unleashed significant snowfall across the territory.

Snow continued to fall all day 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 estimated that the last group of roughly 200 hikers were projected to reach a secure area by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 guides, livestock herders, and other crew members were evacuated, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday night.

Those Rescued Recount Harsh Conditions

One from China traveler described how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to remove it every 90 minutes. They opted to move to lower ground on Sunday as the conditions became more severe.

“On the way, we encountered our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we found out the snow was intense in the valley, too; local residents, incapable to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned.”

Expedition Plans Disrupted

The severe weather also thwarted the plans of climbers guided by a United States mountaineering company to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the boundary between China and the nation of Nepal.

Tourism Increase in the Area

Karma valley was first visited by international explorers a hundred years ago. In the past few years, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a prominent tourism attraction, the area has drawn an rising number of visitors. More than 540,000 tourists explored the Everest region last year, establishing a unprecedented number.

Region Remains Closed

The Everest region remains for the time being inaccessible to the visitors, including the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Broader Effect

The heavy snowfall over the weekend also affected hundreds of travelers in other parts of western China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one traveler lost their life, due to a blend of hypothermia and altitude sickness.

Unusual Conditions

October is typically a busy season for the area, with typically fine and mild weather, but one trekker of an 18-person trekking group that returned safely to Qudang noted that the weather this year was “unusual.”