Decades of human waste have made Mount Everest a ‘fecal time bomb’

Washington Post ^ | March 3, 2015 | By Peter Holley

[Brad from Tennessee]

When Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest in 1953, it was arguably the loneliest place on Earth — an oxygen-deprived desert perched atop an icy, 29,000-foot ladder of death.

Over the last 62 years, more than 4,000 climbers have replicated the pair’s feat, with hundreds more attempting to do so during the two-month climbing season each spring, according to the Associated Press.

Along the way, people have left oxygen canisters, broken climbing equipment, trash, human waste and even dead bodies in their wake, transforming the once pristine peak into a literal pile of … well, you get the idea.

“The two standard routes, the Northeast Ridge and the Southeast Ridge, are not only dangerously crowded but also disgustingly polluted, with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human excrement befouling the high camps,” mountaineer Mark Jenkins wrote in a 2013 National Geographic article on Everest. . .

[JudyinCanada]

This is confusing.

Wouldn’t the fecal matter of 65 climbers per year just decompose? Is it forever preserved because of the cold? What about wind, snow, ice, etc.? I find it hard to believe that it all remains intact year after year, but I’m not an expert.

[central_va]

Seems to me just throw the crap over the side.

[nascarnation]

The body of George Mallory, who died there in 1924 is said to be well preserved.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Sounds like another network can give the Sharknado franchise a run for it’s money with “Sh!tnado from Everest,” the storm that hits everywhere but Hollywood and DC which are already full of it. Were all in deep trouble as it all piles up.

[Milton Miteybad]

From the linked article: So, how much waste are we talking about? As much as “26,500 pounds of human excrement” each season, “most of it bagged and carried by native Sherpas to earthen pits near Gorak Shep, a frozen lake bed and village at 16,942 feet,” according to Grinnell College.

If it helps, we could think of it as a stimulus to the Nepalese economy. But it's not a job I personally want.

[Gamecock]

Last year, the Nepali government instituted a new rule requiring each climber to bring 18 pounds of trash off the mountain — “the amount it estimates a climber discards along the route,” according to the AP. Climbing teams that don’t comply forfeit their $4,000 deposits.

I'll be they aren't bringing down 18 pounds of poop!

[dware]

Nicely preserved after 30 years. I’ve always found this part of the whole thing fascinating. According to Google, there are over 200 bodies on the mountain. Just wild.

[blueunicorn6]

Great. I saw that photo, and I thought about climbing that mountain, and a little bit of pee came out, too.

[Gamecock]

This story stinks to high heaven!

[Leep]

Most of the underlying poop would decompose within several month to a year. It would essentially turn into humus.

[GreenAccord]

Well, not actually.

[Alex Murphy]

I'll be they aren't bringing down 18 pounds of poop!

Mt Everest is getting taller.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

There’s a homosexual reference in there somewhere.

Maybe to you, kimosabe . . .

[Leep]

I meant to add In normal conditions.

[NativeSon]

somehow, someway, some dimocrat is going to use this as an excuse to pick my friggin pocket

[Carry_Okie]

Dreamed I was an Eskimo
Frozen wind began to blow
Under my boots and around my toes
The frost that bit the ground below
It was a hundred degrees below zero...

And my mama cried
And my mama cried
Nanook, a-no-no
Nanook, a-no-no
Don't be a naughty Eskimo
Save your money, don't go to the show

Well I turned around and I said "Oh, oh" Oh
Well I turned around and I said "Oh, oh" Oh
Well I turned around and I said "Ho, Ho"
And the northern lights commenced to glow
And she said, with a tear in her eye
"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"
"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow!"

[skeeter]

Friggen hilarious. And You’re right!

[nickcarraway]

That would be number nine coal.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Both!

[central_va]

Some form of fecal mortar could be developed.