Everest litter worries Khumbu folks

Besides, keeping Mt Everest clean would also be a great honour to the legendary mountaineers – Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary – who made the first ascent of the world’s highest peak 65 years ago on May 29, Pemba Sherpa of Namche Bazaar said.

John All, research professor at Western Washington University in the US, said that high mountain environments were fragile places and trash has a disproportionate impact. Leaving trash in high camps is possibly the most disrespectful thing a climber can do, he noted.

“The very small spaces that climbers use quickly turn into a sewer if we are not all considerate towards our fellow climbers and towards the mountain,” the scientist, who is also Executive Director at American Climber Science Programme, added that trash in the high camps can move down the glacier over time and also affect downstream water quality.