Expeditions to send huge trash bags to help clean Mt Everest
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Mountaineering expedition organizers in Nepal are sending huge trash bags with climbers on Mount Everest during the spring climbing season to collect trash that then can be winched by helicopters back to the base camp.
Dambar Parajuli of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal said Wednesday that bags have already been sent to the base camp to be carried by climbers, guides and porters to higher elevations.
Each bag can hold up to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of trash and can be hooked to helicopters at Camp 2 to be flown back to the base camp. The helicopters after dropping off supplies and equipment at the camp located at 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) generally fly back empty.
Hundreds of climbers and their guides are expected to attempt to scale the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak during the spring season. Climbers generally arrive in April and attempt to reach the summit in May when weather conditions are favourable. They leave behind a lot of garbage.