🔗 Share this article Every Single Trekkers Currently Out of Danger Following Days Trapped in Severe Blizzard Rescue teams have safely led all of the last trekkers near the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to safety, along with hundreds of native guides and yak herders, officials reported. This concludes one of the biggest rescue and recovery operations ever seen in the area. Massive Evacuation Effort Concluded Hundreds of trekkers were left stranded in thick snow over the recent weekend in the isolated Karma valley, after an exceptionally powerful snowstorm dumped significant snowfall across the area. Snow continued to fall all day Saturday in the valley, which rests at an mean altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, rescue personnel had guided approximately 350 hikers to security. Initial updates had estimated that the remaining roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach their destination by Tuesday. In total, 580 mountaineers, coupled with more than 300 local guides, livestock herders, and other assistants were evacuated, according to authoritative announcements released on Tuesday evening. Those Rescued Describe Harsh Situations One from China hiker recalled how their group had been “too anxious to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to clear it every 90 minutes. They opted to go down on Sunday as the weather deteriorated. “On the way, we met our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we realized the snow was heavy in the valley, too; community members, incapable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.” Expedition Plans Thwarted The severe weather also hindered the objectives of mountaineers guided by a United States expedition firm to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the border between the People's Republic of China and Nepal. Visitor Increase in the Region Karma valley was first discovered by western travelers a century ago. In recent years, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a major tourism draw, the area has brought in an rising number of travelers. More than 540,000 sightseers traveled to the Everest region last year, setting a all-time high. Region Still Off-Limits The Everest region remains currently off-limits to the visitors, covering the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu. Wider Impact The intense snowfall over the weekend also affected many of travelers in other parts of the western regions of China, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Tragically, at least one traveler lost their life, due to a combination of hypothermia and altitude sickness. Atypical Conditions October is typically a busy season for the area, with normally clear and moderate weather, but one participant of an 18-person hiking party that got back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “atypical.”