Everest is not a lavatory so bag it up, climbers told

Waste must be brought back to base camp as officials claim that world’s highest peak ‘stinks’

ALONGSIDE their ice axes, fleeces and food, climbers attempting Mount Everest will soon have to find room in their rucksacks for another item – poo bags.

In an attempt to clean up the world’s highest peak, authorities in Nepal have decreed that climbers must do their business in a bag and then take it back down the mountain with them.

The bags are to be bought at Everest base camp and will be “checked upon their return”, officials say, as they tackle the unsightly and unhygienic problem of climbers relieving themselves in the open, sullying the environment.

The decree was issued in the lead-up to the main climbing season on Everest, which lasts from March until May. Each year, around 600 people attempt to climb the 29,029 ft mountain, spending weeks in the area as they acclimatise.

While there are extensive toilet facilities at Everest base camp, the problem begins when climbers head for the summit. Some dig holes for their waste but others leave it on rocks, snow and ice. The extreme temperatures mean it does not fully degrade.

Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which covers much of the Everest region, told the BBC: “We are getting complaints that human stools are visible on rocks and some climbers are falling sick. This is not acceptable and erodes our image. “Our mountains have begun to stink.” Between camp one, at the base of Everest, and camp four, towards the summit, there are estimated to be around three tons of human excrement, according to Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee.

Chhiring Sherpa, its chief executive, said: “Half of that is believed to be in South Col, also known as camp four. Waste remains an issue, especially in higher up camps where you can’t reach.”

In recent years there have been a number of clean-up campaigns on Everest, but as soon as rubbish is removed, more climbers arrive.

Last year, Nepal issued a record 478 climbing permits for the mountain, bringing more than 1,500 climbers, guides and support staff to the area.

Jonathan Reilly, of the British Expedition Company, which organises treks to Everest base camp, said: “The waste on Everest is ridiculous.

“The question is, will climbers bring the poo bags back down the mountain or will they just discard them up there, a bit like dog walkers throwing away plastic bags of dog poo? That would be worse because the bags will make it impossible for the waste to biodegrade.”

The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is buying around 8,000 waste bags from the US to be distributed to climbers, sherpas and support staff.

Each person will receive two bags on the basis that they can be used several times. The bags contain chemicals that solidify the human waste and render it largely odourless.

The plastic containers are often called WAG bags, with the acronym standing for Waste Alleviation and Gelling.

One commercially available option is the Toilet-to-go: Anywhere, Anytime. Another, aimed at climbers, is called El Crap – a play on El Cap, the nickname for El Capitan, the sheer-sided granite monolith in Yosemite National Park that featured in the film Free Solo.

The plan’s success will be determined by whether climbers are checked for used poo bags upon return after their attempt on the summit.

Mr Mingma admitted enforcement of clean-up initiatives had been lax in the past but said that this time would be different.

“We will run a contact office and make sure our new measures are implemented,” he said.

‘Will they just discard them up there, a bit like dog walkers throwing away plastic bags of dog poo?’