Reuters
Efforts to evacuate more than 200 trekkers still stranded near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet are expected to wrap up on Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation said, after snowstorms tore across western China.
Outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to China's rugged interior since an eight-day holiday began on October 1, but a sudden blizzard over the weekend caught offguard hundreds of hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of Everest's Kangshung face.
Their evacuation, which began on Monday, should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to media on the matter. Tibet's regional government had no immediate comment.
Snow fell through Saturday in Tibet's remote Karma valley, at an average altitude of 4,200 m (13,800 feet). On Sunday, rescuers had guided about 350 stranded hikers to safety.
"Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow - that made it a little easier," said Eric Wen, 41, adding that he trudged through 19 km (12 miles), most of it heavy snow, to leave the valley.
"Otherwise, it would've been impossible for us to make it out on our own."
Regional authorities helped Wen and others on his expedition reach the Tibetan capital of Lhasa by Monday.
First explored by Western travellers a century ago, the valley is relatively pristine. In contrast to the arid north face of the world's highest mountain, it is swathed in lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests fed by glacier melt.
The snowstorm also thwarted the plans of climbers guided by U.S.-based Madison Mountaineering to summit Cho Oyu, a 8,188-m (26,864-ft) peak on China's border with Nepal that is the world's sixth highest.
"A major storm suddenly developed and dumped over a metre of snow on Everest and the surrounding Himalayan peaks," expedition leader Garrett Madison told Reuters in a text message on Tuesday.
Outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to China's rugged interior since an eight-day holiday began on October 1, but a sudden blizzard over the weekend caught offguard hundreds of hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of Everest's Kangshung face.
Their evacuation, which began on Monday, should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to media on the matter. Tibet's regional government had no immediate comment.
Snow fell through Saturday in Tibet's remote Karma valley, at an average altitude of 4,200 m (13,800 feet). On Sunday, rescuers had guided about 350 stranded hikers to safety.
"Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow - that made it a little easier," said Eric Wen, 41, adding that he trudged through 19 km (12 miles), most of it heavy snow, to leave the valley.
"Otherwise, it would've been impossible for us to make it out on our own."
Regional authorities helped Wen and others on his expedition reach the Tibetan capital of Lhasa by Monday.
First explored by Western travellers a century ago, the valley is relatively pristine. In contrast to the arid north face of the world's highest mountain, it is swathed in lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests fed by glacier melt.
The snowstorm also thwarted the plans of climbers guided by U.S.-based Madison Mountaineering to summit Cho Oyu, a 8,188-m (26,864-ft) peak on China's border with Nepal that is the world's sixth highest.
"A major storm suddenly developed and dumped over a metre of snow on Everest and the surrounding Himalayan peaks," expedition leader Garrett Madison told Reuters in a text message on Tuesday.
