An experienced Sherpa estimates that there may be at least 40-50 tons of waste in the South Col mountain pass. As climate change progresses, it is believed that the piles of waste left by tourists will be revealed.
Tourists coming to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, have thoroughly messed up the camp known as number three.
An experienced Sherpa guide Ang Babu according to the South Col mountain pass, i.e. the last camp before the summit of Mount Everest, there may be at least 40-50 tons of waste.
– Mostly old tents, food packages, gas cartridges, oxygen bottles and ropes, which are used for climbing and tying the tents, have been left there, Babu tells news agency AP.
According to an experienced Sherpa, there is so much garbage at the South Col that it is layered in piles.
The lowest wastes are frozen at the bottom of the piles.
According to Sherpa, the cleanup job could take years because the waste is located at an altitude of almost 8,000 meters.
Spring cleaning is already an annual tradition
Every year, the Nepalese government recruits soldiers and Sherpas to clean up tourists’ waste from the slopes of the mountain.
This spring, the group collected 11 tons of trash from Mount Everest. In addition, four bodies and one skeleton were cleaned from the slopes.
British Independent reported this week that the expedition took more than 11 hours to remove the skeleton from the ice.
As a result of global warming, the snow cover on Mount Everest is thinning. As the snow recedes, it is believed that piles of corpses and waste left by tourists will be revealed.
Mount Everest was conquered 70 years ago
Mount Everest was successfully climbed for the first time by New Zealanders Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Since then, thousands of climbers have tried to reach the “roof of the world”.
of The Economist According to the Nepalese government last year, a record number of 466 climbing permits were issued to Mount Everest.
Conquering Mount Everest is dangerous. At least eight climbers have died on the mountain this year.
In 2023, Mount Everest claimed 18 lives, which is reportedly an all-time record.
It is estimated that at least 300 people have lost their lives trying to climb the mountain since the 1920s.
According to an experienced Sherpa, bringing dead bodies down from the slopes is laborious.
According to AP, Babu says that dragging a body found at an altitude of 8,400 meters to 6,000 meters can take up to 18 hours.
In recent years, the Nepalese government has insisted that climbers must bring back their trash or lose their deposit.
The government’s actions have reduced the amount of waste accumulating on Mount Everest.
Sources: AP, AFP