Everest is basically a mountain of human excrement.
Hiker's duty
Back in the good old days of climbing Everest, you could pull down your pants, drop the deuce, and leave it there on the snowy ground.
The problem with leaving poop on the world's highest mountain is that the extremely cold temperatures of that environment don't encourage any biological material to break down. In addition, fecal runoff is a problem at lower elevations, contaminating local watersheds.
Basically, Mount Everest is covered in human feces. It's a problem hikers, Sherpas and local authorities have complained about for years.
But now, according to CNN, new poop rules have been introduced. If you want to climb Everest from Nepal, the most common trailhead, you must take your trash home with you instead of leaving it on the mountain.
Hikers who have already paid tens of thousands of dollars to summit Everest are required to bring two fecal bags with the capacity to defecate six times. When poop is placed inside the bag, the chemicals inside eliminate the odor and solidify the poop, authorities said.
dirt mountain
The problem with leaving human waste on the mountain is that it not only looks unsightly, but it can also contaminate otherwise pristine snow and glacier ice. Melted runoff can contaminate drinking water and make climbers and non-climbers alike sick.
“Every year, the situation is getting worse because of the poop,” said Lhakpa Rita, a veteran Everest climber. outside In 2015, the magazine said, “In Camps I and II, people are just digging holes, but the water leaches out and smells terrible. As it leaches, it gets into the water and people are getting sick in all the camps.” said.
“The only good thing about the human waste situation at base camp is that at 8,000 meters the feces freezes quickly,” Everest guide Adrian Ballinger told the magazine. “More than that, it's an inexcusable embarrassment. If you walk from tent to tent in Camp II or IV, you're stepping on shit. If you melt the snow in the camp area, you're drinking shit. ”
Another problem authorities have had to deal with is the pile of trash, from abandoned tents to oxygen tanks. This mountaintop is called “the world's highest garbage dump.”
In other words, it's time for these wealthy tourists to take their trash home.
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