Both Sky and BBC news recently featured reports of an Everest clean up expedition where “20 people braved the dangerous "death zone" conditions of Mount Everest” to clear the peak of rubbish left behind by climbers. Sky news calls Everest the “world’s highest dump”, with “more than 4,000 adventurers having scaled the peak since 1953.” The reports also featured a video of the trash collection by tourism officials in Nepal. Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, led by Namgyal Sherpa, went above the 8,000-metre mark to collect empty oxygen bottles, gas canisters, torn tents, ropes and utensils. The expedition grabbed the attention of the media as this was the first team to venture into the thin air and freezing temperatures of the so-called death zone.
There have been many expeditions to clean up Everest over the years. Just how dirty is Everest and does it really need such massive clean up operations? Or are these expeditions just a way for people to raise the finance for their Everest climb? And what actually happens to the waste? Katy Dartford takes a look at the issues involved.

How dirty?

Himalayan expedition and trek leader Roland Hunter, who runs The Mountain Company, says Everest is actually relatively clean these days. “Most gear left over by expeditions such as abandoned tents and used O bottles will be brought down by Sherpa’s for resale. Most expeditions bring all rubbish down with them at the end and all toilet waste is brought down in barrels from Base Camp. There are also many liaison officers from Nepal government who will check Everest Base Camp, if they are not happy then the team will not receive their environmental bond back.”

Hunter argues that “the real scandal is the amount rubbish at the other 8,000m base camps in Nepal such as Makalu and Dhaulagiri, places that don’t catch the eye of the BBC or Sky news.” Caroline Letrange who runs “Reach Summit”, another company running Everest expeditions, agrees; “We pay a huge tax to Nepalese authorities that is only refunded when we bring back all our rubbish, included human waste, so that we don’t contaminate the glacier's water to villages downstream. Cylinders are sometimes left nowadays but only in extreme situations as a single cylinder cost around 420 dollars.”
Eight-time Everest summiter, Kenton Cool, has had more experience than most of what it’s like on each of the Camps on Everest. “My experience is only on the South Side and most clean ups are held there.  Base camp is actually very clean and tidy, Camp 1 and the ice fall are not too bad as at camp 1 new snow comes down and covers the trash. “He says it’s from then onwards that things get worse. “ Camp 2 at 6400m is a bit of grim really and it’s got a lot worse this year.” He explains that “ at end of 2009 a sudden severe storm came in and a number of teams had to get off the mountain quickly and couldn’t get back on to clear the camp out.  There are bits of tent, kettles, pots and pans, Kerosene, Mars bar wrappers and human waste. It's got significantly worse in the last few years.”

The Extreme Everest Expedition 2010 team were trying to clean rubbish form Camp 4. This ground above 8000m is the death zone and the highest camp. “It is a filthy place with pots, pans and tents, from both commercial and non commercial expeditions” says Kenton. So is it excusable to leave waste behind? “Possibly not, just because its 8000 meters up rubbish shouldn’t just be dumped. But it is logistically harder to get your rubbish down and you may not be fit enough to do it, so is it more excusable than the mess at camp 2. There are also some bodies up there and it’s a big operation to bring them down.”

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