Taking action against Mount Everest littering:

Many have lost their lives on Mount Everest (8,848 m) after the Briton Sir Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the top of the world’s highest mountain in 1953.

Many of these have been Sherpas – local guides who also carry equipment and food for the climbers.

Now the authorities are using drones – both to improve security and to limit the accumulation of rubbish that Mount Everest has become so notorious for.

– It’s a test. If we succeed, it will mean that we will use drones on a large scale to bring down garbage from up to 6,500 meters in (the camp) Camp II, Jagat Prasad Bhusal told the Kathmandu Post.

– Can prevent deaths

Bhusal is the administrative chief of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu municipality.

One of the deaths on the Nepal side of the mountain is the so-called Khumbu Icefall, which is described as a massive “river of ice”.

Around 50 people are said to have died here between 1953 and 2023.

A side effect of new official requirements to bring rubbish back from the mountain is that the dangerous part has to be crossed several times – if the transport is not done in another way.

This is where the new drones come in.

– The drone can prevent increasing deaths among the mountain guides, at least in the icefall, Bhusal explains to the Kathmandu Post.

He says that the drones can fly up to 6,500 meters high, and carry 30 kilos.

Shock sum: – To survive

Punitive measures

The authorities’ new measures are not limited to using drones.

They also require the climbers to collect urine and extremity in special bags when they are higher than base camp, which is at just over 5,000 metres.

– So far, five expeditions have brought “poop bags”, Bhusal tells the Kathmandu Post.

He says that each bag has a code, and threatens punitive measures against those who do not take the bags back with them.

– The climbers must take the bags back with them, otherwise they will not receive a rubbish clearance certificate. Without that certificate, they cannot claim back their rubbish deposit, nor do they get the prestigious certificate for having climbed Everest, Bhusal told the Kathmandu Post.

According to the website, the rubbish deposit is 4,000 dollars.

As Dagbladet has written, Norwegian Frank Løke – who is on an expedition to Mount Everest now – has also taken steps to bring the crap down from the mountain.

Expensive in the “dead zone”

Even when deaths occur, the authorities set stricter requirements than before.

They hold the travel agency or tour operator responsible for taking care of the dead body – which is not a cheap affair.

Especially in what is called the “death zone”, above 8,000 metres, the task of transporting the dead down is both very difficult and expensive.

According to the Kathmandu Post, we are talking about expenses of up to 200,000 dollars – or 2.2 million Norwegian kroner.