Everest Garbage Cleanup Could Take Years, Veteran Climber Says

Mount Everest offers a stunning view from the tallest point on Earth. Locals in Nepal call Everest Sagarmatha. But after seven decades of hosting brave climbers, the mountain could be called “the world’s highest garbage dump.”   

Ang Babu led a recent cleanup effort on Everest with Nepali soldiers and other local guides. Babu is a Sherpa guide who has climbed the mountain a number of times. He estimated that at South Col, there may be as much as 50 tons of frozen garbage. It's the highest camp on the mountain. The litter ranges from normal trash to the grotesque. It includes used food containers, climbing gear, human waste, and even bodies of climbers who died while climbing.

Babu told The Associated Press (AP) that it’ll likely take years to clean it up. That’s because the process is very dangerous. Only the most seasoned climbers can survive the lack of oxygen atop the world’s tallest mountain (29,032 feet above sea level). Much of the refuse is locked in years of frozen snowpack. And there are only short windows of time when climbers aren’t facing brutal weather.  

Despite tough conditions, Babu’s crew managed to collect about 11 tons of garbage. They also moved five bodies which were flown to a Kathmandu hospital to be identified.

“Most of the garbage is from older expeditions,” Ang Babu told AP. 

Climbers have grown more environmentally-friendly in recent years. And now the government requires climbers to pack garbage out with them or forfeit their deposits. Climbers have long complained about the garbage. In December, a viral video showing a campsite littered with trash was met with angry posts on Reddit.

“It’s disgusting!” said one post. “I hope we can come together to change our ways.”   

Reflect: Why might it be important for people to take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves?