The Nepalese army says it has been removedeleven tons of trash, four dead bodies and a skeleton from Everest and two other Himalayan peaks this year.
It took troops 55 days to collect rubbish and dead bodies from Mount Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse. It is estimated that more than fifty tons of trash and more than 200 corpses cover Everest.
The military has begun carrying out an annual cleanup of the mountain, which is often described as the world’s highest garbage dump. The five cleanups collected 119 tons of trash, 14 human corpses and some skeletons, the military says. This year, authorities aimed to reduce litter and improve rescues by requiring climbers to wear tracking devices.
In the future, the government plans to create a group of mountaineers to monitor garbage and invest more money in collecting it, Rakesh Gurung, director of mountaineering at the Nepal Tourism Department, told the BBC.
600 people climbed the mountain this year
For the spring climbing season, which ended in May, the government issued permits to 421 climbers, up from a record 478 last year. These numbers do not include drivers from Nepal. In total, around 600 people climbed the mountain this year.
This year, eight climbers have died or gone missing, compared to 19 last year.
Briton Daniel Paterson and his Nepalese guide, Pastenji Sherpa, are among those missing after being hit by falling ice on May 21.
Source: BBC