▲ Ellie Lucadamo (Evanston, Illinois), Jamie Lee Hemenway (Anchorage, Alaska), and Taylor Fowler (Tacoma, Washington) left Jeju on Oct. 10 to trek Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit. Photo courtesy Damon Morelli

After six days of uncertainty, contact was finally made with three former Jeju residents who were feared caught in Nepal’s recent snowstorm disaster while trekking through the Himalayas.

Taylor Fowler (Tacoma, Washington), Jamie Lee Hemenway (Anchorage, Alaska), and Ellie Lucadamo (Evanston, Illinois) left Jeju on Oct. 10 to trek Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit, the world's 10th-tallest peak. The three Americans were expected to be out of contact for approximately 20 days, but fears for their safety were raised after the deadly blizzard brought on by Cyclone Hudhud struck their projected hiking course on Oct. 14, leaving 39 confirmed dead. Nepalese officials called off the rescue mission on Oct. 20 after rescuing 407 hikers, including 226 foreigners.

“We believe that all the trekkers and guides have been helped and as far as we know there are no more people stranded on the route,", said Yadav Koirala of Nepal's Disaster Management Division.

Most of the casualties were caught on Thorong La pass, a 220-kilometer trail through the mountain, and one of the highest points on the Annapurna trekking route. While scores of messages to all three girls had gone unanswered for days, the trio was finally able to communicate with friends and family on Oct. 20 from Manang Village – the only place along their route with electricity and an Internet connection. It was then learned that the group was five days of travel behind the danger zone at the time of the disaster, and experienced nothing more than heavy rainfall from their much lower elevation. Hemenway posted this on her Facebook page:

"To everyone I know and love to infinity and beyond, I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to update anyone from the lack of internet, phone service, or electricity. We have been hiking for a week now and we luckily were wayyyy too far down the mountain to even realize that there were avalanches. I'm also so very sorry to have kept you all worried. We are now in Manang village, the only spot with internet on our trek, and the first spot to actually see snow. Thank you all for caring about our safety and I am deeply sorry to keep you worried sick about us We are safe I love you guys so much and I can't wait to hug you all soon."

The update brought much needed relief to loved ones in the girls’ hometowns, and to their extended expatriate family in Jeju, all of whom were unable to do anything but wait for days on end to hear from them – or worse, about them.

The trio aims to complete the Annapurna Circuit before moving on to travel through three additional countries through Southeast Asia. Fowler and Hemenway will then return to Korea at the end of November to pick up some final personal affects in Seoul, then head home to the United States, while Lucadamo will continue her travels into December.