Nepalese Climbers Clean Trash From Everest in 47 Days

Apr 03, 2021 by Anu Chaudhari in Environment

Nearly 800 people attempt to climb Mount Everest every year, and before that the climbers spend some time at the base camp. If everything goes as per the plan, they start to scale the world’s tallest peak and then return. But there are few unwanted things that they leave behind such as plastics, packets of food, and oxygen tanks. Sadly, Everest has become a plastic graveyard, just like other popular destinations in the world.

As more mountaineering enthusiasts are climbing Mount Everest, the paths to the summit have become home to trash like plastics and food waste. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restricted tourists from visiting popular destinations, the climbing community in Nepal made the most of this tourism slowdown by coming forward and cleaning Everest.

Nepalese climbers were able to remove astounding 2.2 tons of rubbish from Mount Everest | Image: Bally Peak

A group of climbers, under the initiative led by Swiss luxury brand Bally, sought to clean up the mountains. Bally Peak Initiative was led by Nepali climbers and environmental activist Dawa Steven Sherpa, who has been removing trash from Everest since 2008. Bally partnered with local Serpas to clean up the base camps that lead to Mount Everest and other summits. Recently, the group traveled across the Himalayas for 47 days and collected 2.2 tons of garbage from various mountains including Everest, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, and Makalu.

The initiative is intended to preserve one of the most exotic mountains on the earth while reducing the effects of over-tourism and global warming. This project was launched in 2019, making it the first-ever clean-up to reach the summit of Everest. The team was able to collect almost 2 tons of rubbish in the span of two seasons from the Bootcamp.

Last fall, a #BallyPeakOutlook expedition embarked on the first phase of our #8X8000M pledge to clean up the base camps of Nepal’s eight 8,000m mountains. Over 47 days, 2.2 tons of waste were removed from Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu. Learn more at https://t.co/k4aTRjwhWk pic.twitter.com/Drnj4J26lQ

— BALLY (@Bally) March 29, 2021

A series of five short clips were captured by the team, who cleaned Nepal’s 8 highest mountain peaks. Released on April 1, Steven Sherpa shared a glimpse of the Sherpa people and how these mountains are interdependent in the documentary.

Also Read: Microplastics Found Near Summit of Mount Everest

The latest initiative, which was scheduled in early 2020, was delayed till late September due to the coronavirus pandemic. At this time, the team was set about to clean the eight mountains of Nepal. The initial stage had a team of 12 climbers, cleaning the base camps of Everest and four other mountains. This phase started on September 9, 2020, and was carried for 47 days.

Bally Peak Foundation Initiative employed climbers to clean trash from the Everest | Image: Bally Peak Foundation

The cleaning expedition is a way to employ some people over a period when the income for many Sherpa communities dropped. However, Nepal has eased the quarantine rules to attract more climbers to Mount Everest, after the pandemic drastically affected the local tourism industry.