Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world and a popular challenge for particularly adventurous climbers, is sadly also becoming an outdoor lavatory. The Chinese Mountaineering Society has taken action by announcing that all climbers will now have to carry their own faecal matter both up and down the mountain.
The Chinese Mountaineering Association Director Ci Luo recently announced that climbers would be responsible for keeping their waste off the famed mountain, including their own faeces. A few years ago, a Washington Post correspondent described the mountain as a ticking ‘faecal time bomb’, never mind the hundreds of dead bodies of climbers that have accumulated over the years.
It was not too long ago that we reported that Chinese authorities had decided to close their base camp on the Tibetan side of the nearly 9,000-metre mountain in order to tackle the extraordinary amount of litter and other waste that had piled up over the many years.
As unappealing as this new requirement may be, it’s an important reminder of how iconic natural wonders can be ‘loved to death’, as this kind of over-tourism has become known. Climbers will learn to respect their Everest challenge and the sherpas who help them along the way, and who knows, maybe they’ll really appreciate the, er, weight of their endeavour.
Image: Unsplash
