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Rescue teams have successfully guided all of the last adventurers near the eastern slopes of Everest in the Tibet region to safety, including numerous of regional escorts and animal tenders, authorities reported. This marks the end one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts ever conducted in the zone.

Large-Scale Evacuation Operation Completed

Numerous of explorers were became trapped in thick snow over the recent weekend in the secluded Karma valley, after an unusually powerful snowstorm dumped significant snowfall across the region.

Snow continued to fall all day Saturday in the valley, which is located at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, emergency teams had escorted 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, coupled with more than 300 guides, yak herders, and other crew members were evacuated, according to official reports released on Tuesday night.

Survivors Recount Severe Situations

One from China hiker described how their group had been “too frightened to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to shovel it every 90 minutes. They chose to descend on Sunday as the weather worsened.

“On the way, we came across our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we learned the snow was intense in the valley, too; villagers, not able to contact their children on the mountain, were deeply concerned.”

Climbing Plans Thwarted

The blizzard also disrupted the goals of climbers led by a American mountaineering outfit to ascend Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the frontier between the People's Republic of China and the nation of Nepal.

Tourism Increase in the Area

Karma valley was first explored by western adventurers a hundred years ago. In recent years, with the growth of the Everest region in Tibet as a significant visitor destination, the area has brought in an growing number of tourists. More than 540,000 tourists visited the Everest region last year, marking a new record.

Region Remains Closed

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

Wider Impact

The significant snowfall over the weekend also impacted numerous of hikers in other parts of the western regions of China, for example Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Unfortunately, at least one traveler lost their life, due to a mix of exposure and high-altitude illness.

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 made it back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “not normal.”