KATHMANDU, Nepal — The highest camp on the world’s tallest mountain is littered with garbage that is going to take years to clean up, according to a Sherpa who led a team that worked to clear trash and dig up dead bodies frozen for years near Mount Everest’s peak. Garbage collected on Mount Everest is piled before it is sorted for recycling at a facility operated by Agni Ventures, an agency that manages recyclable waste, June 24 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Nepal government-funded team of soldiers and Sherpas removed 11 tons of garbage, four dead bodies and a skeleton from Everest during this year's climbing season.
Ang Babu Sherpa, who led the team of Sherpas cleaning the trash from the high altitude camps of Mount Everest, speaks to The Associated Press on June 20 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Ang Babu Sherpa, who led the team of Sherpas, said there could be as much as 40-50 tons of garbage still at South Col, the last camp before climbers make their attempt on the summit. “The garbage left there was mostly old tents, some food packaging and gas cartridges, oxygen bottles, tent packs, and ropes used for climbing and tying up tents,” he said, adding that the garbage is in layers and frozen at the 26,400-foot altitude where the South Col camp is located.
Since the peak was first conquered in 1953, thousands of climbers have scaled it and many have left behind more than just their footprints. In recent years, a government requirement that climbers bring back their garbage or lose.