A scheme to encourage climbers to bring their waste down from Mount Everest is being scrapped - with Nepalese authorities telling the BBC it has been a failure.
Climbers had been required to pay a deposit of $4,000 (£2964), which they would only get back if they brought at least 8kg (18lbs) of waste back down with them.
It was hoped it would begin to tackle the rubbish problem on the world’s highest peak, which is estimated to be covered in some 50 tonnes of waste.
But after 11 years - and with the rubbish still piling up - the scheme is being shelved because it “failed to show a tangible result”.
Wow, never been within many thousands of miles of Everest, but I’m quite frankly shocked by that “50 tonnes” estimate. Yikes!
I wonder at what altitude this is, like is it piled up near a bunch of camps towards the base, or higher up?
I always pictured it more akin to a much more vertical Antarctica or something.
That’s really sad. :(
Aren’t there a bunch of dead people up there too?
There are. Of the 344 people who have died attempting the summit, at least 200 are still up there. You’re literally in the process of slowly dying above the 8000 meter mark, which is why it’s always deemed too dangerous to try and retrieve them.
That’s only 850m shy of the summit tho. How many people make it to 8km and can’t make the last ~10%?
A lot. The weather on Everest can turn on a dime, and if you don’t turn around and start back at the first sign of inclement weather, it can blow up in an instant and murder you.
Tons of summit attempts end with having to be abandoned just short of the finish.
I reckon about 344.
344 plus a lot more who turn around and don’t die.