Everest climbers will now have to collect their excrement and bring it back to base camp
What you do will have to be brought back. Authorities say climbers on Mount Everest will have to bring their faeces back to the base camp where they will be disposed of.
The municipality is responsible for taking care of much of Mount Everest and has implemented new measures to keep the mountains clean, and the new rule for climbers to collect their stools and bring them back to the base camp is also part of these measures.
Due to the extreme cold on Mount Everest, human waste is not fully absorbed in the environment, due to which there is an increase in bitterness and odor.
Municipality chairman Mangma says, “We are getting complaints that human faeces are lying on the rocks on the mountains and some climbers get sick due to this dirt. This situation is not acceptable and tarnishes our image. ‘
After the announcement of the new measures, climbers trying to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, and Mount Lahotse nearby, will now be asked to buy ‘pobags’ from the base camp, collect their stool in it and they will be checked when they return to the base camp. ‘
Where is the stool on the mountain?
During the mountaineering season, most climbers spend their time at the base camp where they adjust their bodies to altitude and low oxygen conditions. At the base camp, separate tents are set up for toilets, under which there are boxes in which stools are stored.
But when they begin their arduous journey of climbing the mountain, the task becomes difficult.
Climbers and their crew mostly defecate by digging smaller parts of the mountain, but as the height is high and the ice level is low in some places, stools have to be done in the open.
Very few bring back stools in ‘biodegradable bags’ while mountaineering, and the process takes weeks.
Although the cleanliness campaign has increased and now it is done once a year by the Nepalese Army, garbage is a major problem of Mount Everest and other mountains in the region.
‘Open toilet’
“Human waste is a big problem, especially in high-altitude camps where you can’t reach,” says Tsering Sherpa, chief executive officer of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), an NGO. ‘
Official figures are not available, but his organization estimates that there are three tons of human feces between the first camp below on Everest and the fourth camp on the height.
“Half of this is believed to be in South Coal, also known as Camp 4. ‘
Stephen Keck is an international mountain guide who also organizes Everest expeditions. He said South Coal has gained a reputation as an “open toilet”.
At an altitude of 25,938 feet, South Cole serves as a base for those who climb Everest and Mount Lahotse before the start of their journey.
Stephen Keck says, “There is no ice, so you see human faeces everywhere. ‘
With permission from Pasang Lahmu Rural Municipality, the SPCC is now procuring about 8,000 ‘pobags’ from the United States for an estimated 400 foreign climbers and 800 support staff for the upcoming mountaineering season starting in March.
These bags will contain chemicals that harden the stool and eliminate more smell.
“Based on this, we are strategising that they will be given two bags and each bag can be used five to six times. ‘
“This is definitely a positive thing, and we will be happy to do our part to make it a success,” says Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal.
He said that his organization had suggested that it should first be brought as a pilot project on Everest and then replicated on other mountains.
Mangma Sherpa is the first Nepalese to scale all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres. He said that the use of such bags for human waste management has also been tried in other mountains.
Mangma Sherpa, who is also an advisor to the Mountaineering Association of Nepal, says, “Climbers have been using such bags in Mount Denali (the highest peak in North America) and the Antarctic, that’s why we are saying this.”
International mountain leader Mr. Keck echoed the same message, saying the idea would help clear the mountain.
Stephen Keck echoed the same message, saying it would help clear the mountain.
Nepal’s central government has announced several mountaineering laws in the past, but there has been criticism that many of them have not been implemented properly.
A major reason for this is the absence of Leizan officers on the ground. Government officials are believed to be with campaign teams in base camps, but many of them have been criticised for not doing so.
“The state has always been absent in base camps, leading to all sorts of irregularities in which people climb our mountains without permission,” says Mangma, chairman of pasang lahmu rural municipality. ‘
“It’s all going to change now. We will run a liaison office and ensure that our new measures, including bringing climbers back to their faeces, are implemented. ‘