Following one of the bloodiest seasons last year, Nepal has mandated Everest climbers to wear mandatory trackers and dispose of their excrement in compostable bags similar to those used for dog waste.
The local rural municipality of Everest has implemented a series of new restrictions
Last year, 18 climbers were killed, with at least five bodies undiscovered on the world’s highest mountain, where authorities are working to improve safety and clean up a sacred summit where tonnes of trash have been deposited.
Many professional climbers currently use GPS trackers to monitor their progress on the mountain, which is vital for both security and sponsors who watch the ascent.
For the spring climbing season, which begins this month and extends through May, Nepal is likely to mandate less powerful but smaller passive trackers, which can be easily sewn into a jacket and require no power to function. They can be tracked by a handheld detector around 20 meters (66 feet) through packed snow.
Enforcing their use will help locate people in case of an accident, officials said.
“The trackers are mandatory for climbers this year, so that if there is an accident their location can be accurately identified,” Rakesh Gurung, director of mountaineering at Nepal’s Tourism Department, told AFP on Tuesday.
The climbing industry’s rapid expansion has resulted in severe competition among business companies, as well as concerns that some are compromising safety.
With about 600 climbers and guides reaching the summit in 2023, the local rural municipality of Everest has implemented a series of new restrictions, including the use of required poo bags above the base camp.
Tons of garbage, including empty cans, bottles, gas canisters, discarded climbing gear, and plastic and human waste, litter the mountain, which has been dubbed the “highest dumpster in the world”.
“Our mountains are getting polluted”
“Our mountains are getting polluted as well as our water sources,” said Mingma Chiri Sherpa, the chairman of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality.
“The climbers must use biodegradable bags above the base camp for their waste so it can be properly disposed of on their return,” he said.
Climbers at the base camp utilize bathrooms with waste collection barrels.
However, at higher levels, where ice and rock make burying difficult, excrement was previously abandoned. This creates a health danger, particularly for climbers who use melting snow for drinking water.
Poo bags can contain chemicals that help dry and solidify feces, eliminating the stink. They have also been utilized in other harsh climates, such as Antarctica and Denali in Alaska.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks exceeding 8,000 meters
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 peaks exceeding 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) and attracts hundreds of adventurers during the spring climbing season, when temperatures are pleasant and winds are usually quiet.
In the capital, Kathmandu, excursion operators are busy planning for their clients, checking mountaineering equipment, and packing bags of food for mountaineers.
“So far, we expect at least 400 climbers this spring,” said Damber Parajuli of the Expedition Operators’ Association.
Specialized “icefall doctors” have already left for Everest base camp, where they will begin preparing the rope and ladder climbing route.
Every season, these highly trained Nepali mountaineers are the first to reach the summit, forging a path across plunging crevasses and continuously shifting ice, including the hazardous Khumbu icefall.
Three Nepali climbers were killed there last April when a block of glacial ice crashed and washed them into a crevasse when they were crossing the icefall on a supply trip.