KATHMANDU, Nepal – The highest camp on the highest mountain in the world is full of trash that will take years to clean upaccording to a Sherpa who led a team that worked to clean up trash and unearth frozen corpses for years near the peak of Mount Everest.
O Nepal A government-funded team of soldiers and Sherpas removed 11 tons (24,000 pounds) of trash, four dead bodies and a skeleton from Everest during this year’s climbing season.
Ang Babu Sherpa, who led the team of Sherpas, said there could be up to 40-50 tons (88,000-110,000 pounds) of trash still at the South Col, the last camp before climbers try to reach the summit.
“The rubbish left there was mainly old tents, some food packaging and gas cartridges, oxygen bottles, tent packages and ropes used to climb and tie down tents,” he said, adding that the rubbish is in layers and frozen in 8,000 people. meter (26,400 feet) of altitude where the Col Sul camp is located.
Since peak was first conquered in 1953thousands of climbers have climbed it and many have left behind more than just footprints.
In recent years, a government requirement that climbers bring back their trash or forfeit their deposits, along with increased awareness among climbers about the environment, have significantly reduced the amount of trash left behind. However, this was not the case in previous decades.
“Most of the trash comes from older expeditions,” said Ang Babu.
The team’s Sherpas collected trash and bodies in the higher-altitude areas, while soldiers worked at lower levels and in the base camp area for weeks during the popular spring climbing season, when weather conditions are more favorable.
Ang Babu said the weather is a major challenge for his work in the South Col area, where oxygen levels are about a third of normal, winds can quickly turn into blizzard conditions and temperatures drop.
“We had to wait for good weather, when the sun would melt the ice cover. But waiting too long in this attitude and conditions is simply not possible,” he said. “It’s difficult to stay with very low oxygen levels for a long time.”
Removing the rubbish is also a big task as it is frozen in ice and breaking the blocks is not easy.
It took two days to unearth a body near the South Col that was frozen deep in the ice, he said. Halfway through, the team had to retreat to lower camps because of deteriorating weather and resume after it improved.
Another body was much higher, at 8,400 meters (27,720 feet), and it took 18 hours to drag it to Camp 2, where a helicopter picked it up.
The bodies were flown to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for identification.
Of the 11 tonnes of rubbish removed, three tonnes of decomposable items were taken to villages near the base of Everest and the remaining eight were transported by porters and yaks and then trucked to Kathmandu. There it was sorted for recycling at a facility operated by Agni Ventures, an agency that manages recyclable waste.
“The oldest trash we received was from 1957 and was rechargeable batteries for flashlights,” said Sushil Khadga of the agency.
Why do climbers leave trash behind?
“At that altitude, life is too hard and oxygen is too low. Therefore, climbers and their helpers are more focused on saving themselves,” Khadga said.
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