Nepal authorities plead Mt. Everest climbers to clear their waste

KATHMANDU: Nepalese authorities have urged Mount Everest climbers to start cleaning up and dispose of their faeces.

According to the BBC, the Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which encompasses the majority of the Everest region, has implemented the new regulation. It is one of several initiatives being done in the region.

Mingma Sherpa, the municipality’s chairman, told the British channel that “our mountains have begun to stink”.

The proposed law would force climbers to purchase poo bags and return their excrement to base camp for appropriate disposal.

Approximately 8,000 trash bags are being ordered from the United States ahead of the 2018 climbing season, which begins in March.

An estimated 400 international climbers and 800 support workers will utilize these to cook, move equipment, and lead the trip.

According to the BBC, the poo bags will include chemicals and powders that harden the excrement and make it odourless.

Climbers attempting to scale Mount Lhotse, a neighbouring mountain, will also be required to acquire the poo bag.

Mingma stated that the baggage will be “checked upon their return”.

Excrement left on Mount Everest’s higher elevations does not decompose completely owing to harsh temperatures.

At lower elevations, climbers typically dig holes in the snow to relieve themselves. Climbers must ascend in the open at higher elevations due to a lack of snow cover.

This has resulted in an unattractive and unpleasant situation, which Mingma claims has made several climbers sick.

It has also posed health dangers to individuals living nearby and degraded the local community’s reputation.

Mount Everest is 8,849 meters high and the world’s tallest peak above sea level, according to National Geographic. It was originally reported to have been climbed in 1953.

Subsequently then, many more individuals have done the same, causing overpopulation and pollution.

The mountain is cluttered with empty oxygen canisters, food containers, and human waste.

According to the non-governmental organization Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, there are approximately three tons of human feces between camp one at the base of Everest and camp four, which is located roughly 7,900 meters above sea level.

The committee informed the BBC that half of that quantity is thought to be at Camp 4.

There have been an increasing number of clean-up initiatives, including an annual one spearheaded by the Nepal Army.

The country’s central government has already issued various climbing rules. However, some have argued that they have not been fully implemented.