There Are New Rules for Pooping on Mount Everest

[TBoneTX 43,915]

There Are New Rules for Pooping on Mount Everest

 

Poop it out, pack it down.

That's the new directive for climbers on Mount Everest this year.  On Thursday, February 9, Nepali officials told the BBC that mountaineers ascending the world's highest peak will have to bring their feces down to Base Camp using plastic wag bags.  The rule was instated by the Pasang Lhamu municipality, the local government that oversees much of the Nepali side of the peak.

"Our mountains have begun to stink," Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, 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."  [...]

 

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/everest/mount-everest-poop-rules/

[Dashinka 23,781]

I follow the climbing in the Himalayas and Karakoram fairly closely on ExplorersWeb, and this is a real problem particularly on Everest.  Guided climbing is huge business especially in Nepal, and there are hundreds if not thousands that head there every year. The general thought is that the guiding companies will hire more people to deal with the excrement as the paying customers will probably not want to do it themselves.

There are also other new rules that are upcoming.

 

https://explorersweb.com/khumbu-curbing-luxuries-everest-base-camp/

 

Edited February 27 by Dashinka

[TBoneTX 43,915]

27 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

https://explorersweb.com/khumbu-curbing-luxuries-everest-base-camp/

You have a knack for finding cool websites!  Interesting article.  Quote from it:

 

     Moreover:  gear and supplies cannot be airlifted all the way to Base Camp.  Helicopters will have to leave their loads at Syanboche, above Namche Bazaar, a day and a half away.  From that point, yaks will have to carry the loads.

     "The idea here is to spread economic benefit to the local yak herders and porters," explained Dawa Steven.  "The practice of yak herding is slowly dying out because of a lack of incentives.  It also creates other problems, like having less yak dung for cooking and heating."  Yak dung is the main source of fuel above tree line, located at around 4,000m.

--------

Yakkity yak.  Link to one of the hottest threads in CEHST:

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/794053-booming-yak-industry-brings-new-way-of-life-to-herders-on-plateau/#comment-10778551

30 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

the guiding companies will hire more people to deal with the excrement

See bottom of this Kanye West classic:

https://genius.com/Kanye-west-lift-yourself-lyrics

[Ban Hammer 12,999]

just need some chimps on the mountain to throw all that downhill....

[TBoneTX 43,915]

19 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

just need some chimps on the mountain to throw all that downhill....

...at all the inferior primates lower (downhill) on the evolutionary scale.

[TBoneTX 43,915]

Last surviving member of the first team to conquer Mount Everest says it is crowded and dirty now

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition that first conquered Mount Everest said Saturday that the world's highest peak is too crowded and dirty, and the mountain is a god that needs to be respected.

Kanchha Sherpa, 91, was among the 35 members in the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953.  [...]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/last-surviving-member-first-team-075646897.html

[TBoneTX 43,915]

Nepal to require all Mount Everest climbers to use a tracking chip

 

Ahead of the 2024 Mount Everest season, Nepal has announced a new requirement that all climbers must rent and use tracking chips on their journey.

"Reputed companies were already using them but now it's been mandatory for all climbers," Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal's department of tourism, told CNN.  [...]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/nepal-require-mount-everest-climbers-010648130.html

[Dashinka 23,781]

5 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Last surviving member of the first team to conquer Mount Everest says it is crowded and dirty now

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition that first conquered Mount Everest said Saturday that the world's highest peak is too crowded and dirty, and the mountain is a god that needs to be respected.

Kanchha Sherpa, 91, was among the 35 members in the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953.  [...]

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/last-surviving-member-first-team-075646897.html

Kanchha Sherpa sure didn’t look 91 in that picture.  He is right though, but the Nepalese government will most likely not restrict permits as they want the tourism money.  The North side is much more regulated by China.  This article is a year old, but to my knowledge China has not changed the rules.  Of course China does not depend on the tourism dollars, so they do not have the incentive to oversell climbing permits.

 

A more controlled experience

“There is a heavier presence of authorities, rules such as no diesel generators (only solar panels), strict waste management, and 5G in Base Camp,” Ballinger said. Only official, electric vehicles can access Base Camp.

“On the route itself, the rope-fixing is done by a professional, government-assigned team, so we avoid the mix of teams and the politics that implies,” he explained. “Disreputable companies are not allowed to operate in China. Some have been kicked out over the past few years.” Ballinger gave no names.

China was especially strict in 2019 when it decided that Nepali operators would not receive permits. This causes near-panic in Nepal’s thriving expedition industry.

Subsequent conversations at a political level took place, and the measures were somehow softened. But the exact terms never became clear, because the pandemic struck at the beginning of 2020, closing China until now.

Some suggest that China will open, but not to everyone. Overall, this uncertainty is one of the reasons why Nepalis are so keen to open a route on Cho Oyu from Nepal. However, it is proving a tougher nut to crack than expected.

More North Side features

“China does not allow over 300 climbers on the mountain, which definitely means less crowding,” Ballinger said.

Also, Chinese climbers cannot apply for Everest until they have completed another 8,000’er. “That is a regulation I would love to see extended to foreign climbers as well,” Ballinger says. Alpenglow itself does not require a previous 8,000m summit from its clients.

 

https://explorersweb.com/everest-north-side/

[TBoneTX 43,915]

12 hours ago, Dashinka said:

(only solar panels) [...] Only official, electric vehicles

So the Chinese went green here but won't fix their coal plants in their own country?  Jeesh.

[Dashinka 23,781]

7 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

So the Chinese went green here but won't fix their coal plants in their own country?  Jeesh.

Gotta have something to charge those “non-polluting” “zero emission” electric vehicles.

[Dashinka 23,781]

Activities are ramping up.

 

Everest Season About to Begin: Here’s What We Know

 

https://explorersweb.com/gearing-up-for-everest/

 

Edited March 6 by Dashinka

[Dashinka 23,781]

 

Everest: On Track For Another Record Year

 

https://explorersweb.com/everest-another-record-year/

 

I guess we will get to see if the new rules will help.