A climbing team of 15 had to give up their plan of conquering Mt Qomolangma, the world’s highest mountain, amid growing safety concerns, ptnet.cn reported.

Xue Wei, a Pingtan native and a member of the team, told the website that they have received a notice from authorities that ordered to terminate all climbing activities on April 29.

To guarantee the safety of all climbers following an 8.1-magnitude earthquake which jolted Nepal and caused serious damage to Tibet, the China Climbing Association and the Tibet Climbing Association have decided to put an end to spring expeditions in mountains, said the notice.

The team was lucky enough to escape an avalanche triggered by the earthquake at around 14:11 on April 14. They were trying to reach another camp at 7,028 meters.

At least 19 mountaineers on Qomolangma were killed in the avalanche, with more still stranded according to a BBC report on May 3.

“It has to be (canceled),” said Xue. “We will try again next year.”

“We are more grateful rather than sorry for the climbing being stopped,” said Zhao Honglin, another team member.