Around 500 climbers from around the world attempt to reach the summit every year, and for decades they have been leaving behind waste
Everest, the world’s highest mountain, has attracted thousands of adventurers and climbers ready to test their skills against the ultimate challenge. It is also where many took their last steps. Dubbed ‘Garbage Mountain’ in 2000, it has become a lightning rod by which to gauge humanity’s impact on natural sites, and according to local legislators, things are not going well.
What was supposed to be one of the most pristine places on Earth had in fact become a giant toilet. At one point, it was so bad that the air was filled with the smell of feces as the snow melted.
This is the problem facing Mount Everest as it grapples with an ever-increasing number of climbers – many of whom don’t bother to clean up after themselves.
“[It’s] becoming a toilet due to human activity during climbing,” Mingma Chhiri Sherpa, chairperson of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, has said.
As a result, starting this year, climbers from around the world attempting to scale the iconic mountain will be required to purchase a toilet bag at base camp and carry it to the top. When they return, the bag must be handed over with their waste.
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Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,032 feet, straddles Nepal’s border with Tibet. The climbing season is in April and May, and there is a two-month season that is less popular, from September. There are two base camps, one approaching the mountain from the North Ridge, and one from the Southeast Ridge – and before the summit, there are three other camps: Camp 2 at 21,300 feet, Camp 3 at 23,950 feet, and Camp 4 at 26,000 feet.
Around 500 climbers attempt to reach the summit every year. In 2023, Nepal issued 478 permits to climb Mount Everest. Of the permits given for April, 44 are for climbers from the US, 22 from China, 17 from Japan, 16 from Russia, and 13 from the UK.