Tons of human excreta soil the highest peak in the world, according to the Nepal mountaineering association, which is worried about the health consequences of this pollution.
It is the highest peak in the world… and perhaps the dirtiest. As the climbing season opens, the head of the Nepal mountaineering association issues a cry of alarm: Everest, sublime and majestic, is crumbling under mountains of human excrement.
Holes in the snow as a toilet
Each year, the 700 climbers who climb the Roof of the World leave behind tons of feces and liters of urine. Because up there, the four camps that host them do not have latrines. Result: “mountaineers dig holes in the snow and relieve themselves in it”, explains Ang Tshering. to the British newspaper The Guardian. The expedition being spread over two months, that makes a lot of holes …
Since the first ascent of Everest in 1953, more than 4,000 climbers have climbed this summit. With the seasons, their droppings accumulate dangerously. In addition to destroying the ecosystem, they could spread diseases and as such constitute a public health issue, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Necessary measures
Some particularly conscientious climbers take with them disposable bags that allow them not to soil Everest. But this practice remains isolated. The association insists on the need to put in place measures to avoid a health and ecological disaster.
Already last year, the Nepalese government instituted new rules concerning pollution by waste – plastics, oxygen cylinders… Climbers not only have to lower their own garbage, but also collect 8 extra kilos of rubbish left behind by their predecessors. . The measure seems difficult to transpose for excrement …
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