Climbers Take 1,100 Pounds Of Trash Off Mount Everest

In the last seven years, climbers from Japan and Nepal have completed five garbage-collecting excursions on Mt. Everest in a mission to clean up the world's tallest mountain.

According to Reuters, Ken Noguchi, a Japanese man, headed up the most recent cleanup campaign. On this most recent trip alone, Noguchi and his colleagues managed to bring down almost 1,100 lbs. of trash, left behind on the rocky terrain by generations of climbers. The group brought down garbage bags full of tin containers, tents, food scraps, medicine, and other assorted rubbish.

This was not Noguchi's first beautification trip on Everest. He has lead several other trips, both on the Nepali and Tibetan side of the mountain, and so far his group has collected over 8.8 metric tons of waste. The garbage his team collected on the north side of Everest in the past month has been turned over authorities in Tibet, said Noguchi.

"We have brought some of the garbage with us which will be displayed in Tokyo and Seoul to raise public awareness to keep the mountain clean," Noguchi informed Reuters.

Hundreds of men and woman attempt to climb the 29,035 foot mountain every year. Many of those people never reach the summit, but they do leave their mark on the famous peak- in garbage. Climbers can only carry a certain amount of materials and supplies on their backs, and they are therefore forced to leave all sorts of things behind as they advance up Everest. Because of this necessity, the mountain has been dubbed "The world's largest garbage dump."

Perhaps the best thing to do in order to prevent such littering would be to enforce some sort of legislation on what climbers can and cannot leave on the mountainside. However, enforcing such rules would be next to impossible, making these cleanup excursions vital to maintaining one of the world's most recognizable landmarks.

Historically, Everest is has been one of the greatest challenges for mankind. Nearly 2000 people have reached the peak of Everest, and no fewer than 202 people have died trying to do so, said Reuters. In some cases, the bodies of climbers have never been found, creating an entirely different kind of garbage on the slopes of Everest. As climber Ed Viesters once said, "Getting to the summit is optional; getting down is mandatory."

Source: Reuters, "Climbers Clear Mountain of Garbage from Everest"; Yahoo News