Mt Everest is Full of Garbage Again, 24000 Pounds Removed So Far

The world’s most famous peak Mount Everest has become a sought-after destination for international daredevil climbers since it was first successfully topped in the year 1953. Now every year, hundreds of climbers and adventure lovers flock to the slopes of the nearly 30,000-foot mountain, with the dream to conquer it.

The problem is what they leave behind is tons of garbage and human waste, which has also earned the natural wonder a new distinction as the ‘world’s highest garbage dump’.

This year, the issue has come to light recently when the government of Nepal announced that it has so far pulled out 24,200 pounds of garbage off the mountain, during a 45 days cleanup expedition.

Nepal Army spokesperson, Bigyan Dev Pandey said, the trash included, “tens of thousands of pounds of trash which includes empty oxygen cylinders, plastic bottles, cans, batteries, food wrappings and kitchen waste”.

During the expedition, four human bodies were also recovered. This year it has been Mt Everest’s deadliest climbing season on record since 2015, with 11 climbers killed on the mountain in 2019.

Several photos of stranding climbers waiting on the final stretch for their turn to touch the topmost tip of the peak has also sparked debate about whether the Nepalese government should restrict the number of climbing permits issued each year or monitor whether those adventure seekers are supported with convenience or not.

According to an estimate, Everest climbers each year helps Nepal in earning more than $300 million in foreign currency. This year it has also set the record for issuing a record number of permits, which is 381 this year.

According to Indian Army officer and an Everest climber, Col Ranveer Singh Jamwal, “That is a huge amount of money for a relatively poor country like Nepal. It’s not in their economic interest to limit the permits, nor should it be their responsibility to scan the health of climbers”.

The government has not yet said anything whether they plan on to restrict the permits from next year or not. Nepal charges $11,000 as permit fee from each Everest climbers. Equipment and other expenses bring the total cost of a single ascent to around $45,000 per climber. Therefore, the final decision on the permit, for the Nepal government seems a little difficult.

The popularity of Mt Everest, has not only increased foot traffic on the mountain, but also negatively affected the environment of the region.

Prof John All, Environmental Sciences at Western Washington University says, “Overall, the past 10 years have seen a lot of changes in the mountains and they all have been for the negative environmentally in terms of long term survivability of the glaciers”.

In the past also, Nepal has made past efforts to clean up the mountain. This year on April 14, the government sent a 12 member cleanup team up the slopes to pull out garbage, this was first such attempt by the government of Nepal to clean up its pride peak.

Dandu Raj Ghimire, the Director General of Nepal’s Department of Tourism, says, “Our goal is to extract as much waste as possible from Everest so as to restore the glory to the mountain. Everest is not just the crown of the world, but also our pride”.

Ghimire also estimates the total project for a clean up this year would cost around 23 million Nepalese rupees, which is around $207,000.