The World's Highest Junkyard

The first recorded climb of Mt. Everest, the world's tallest peak at 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), was only in 1953. At that time, the mountain was an untouched area of unique flora and fauna. No longer. In fact, it has been described as a trash heap.

Despite inordinate obstacles that pose the danger of death, hundreds of sport enthusiasts make an attempt on the mountain each year. With them come Sherpas, which further add to the number of climbers. And with all the traffic, there are oxygen canisters, sleeping bag parts, broken tents, and food wrappers, just to name a few of the more common items tossed aside. And of course, there is also a lot of human excrement too, which pollutes drinking water elsewhere.

Recent years have seen a concerted clean-up effort. For example, environmentalists have conducted fund-raising campaigns to remove the trash. The Indian Army has also climbed the mountain with the purpose of removing trash; it's most recent expedition estimated the removal of more than 8,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms). Teams of Sherpas have hiked into the dead zone, an area above 26,247 feet (8,000 meters) where oxygen is very thin, and hauled off 4,000 pounds of garbage. And perhaps the idea with the greatest impact is a new law which has been enacted that requires each hiker to bring down eighteen pounds of garbage. Failure to do so results in a permanent ban from all future attempts to scale the mountain.

However, despite recent efforts, the amount of garbage continues to increase, with the result in Mt. Everest being called "the world's highest junkyard." Perhaps the days of a pristine wonder of the world are long gone.