The summit of Mount Everest is not only a great feat of human endurance; it also requires immense preparation, knowledge, and environmental awareness.
Prospective climbers need to meet prerequisites, undertake a brutal training regimen, and spend a significant amount of money to even attempt it.
However, you’d never know it looking at a short video shared on Reddit’s r/InterestingAsF***. (Click here to see if the video doesn’t appear.)
It was not clear exactly where on Everest the footage was taken, but the conditions shown were unacceptable in any natural environment.
“Mount Everest covered in trash, including lots of human excrement,” read the post’s headline. While the breathless narrator’s commentary was hard to hear over the wind, the words “filthy camp” were clearly heard.
Abandoned tents, discarded climbing equipment, and mountains of waste to rival Everest itself were visible in every direction.
As National Geographic noted, Everest was first reached in 1953, and in the intervening decades, it has become “the world’s highest garbage dump.” The outlet added that the wider site, Sagarmatha National Park, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
UNESCO’s Cleaning Everest page, published in 2013, explained that commercially organized expeditions began in the eighties, and with them, a waste management problem developed.
Climbing Mount Everest is notoriously deadly, with mortality rates varying between 1% and 6% of all climbers. Historically, these ecological impacts have been attributed in part to a focus on survival – but that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t serious.
“Pollution in the Himalayas endangers access to and consumption of water, as glaciers feed Asia’s largest rivers, used by more than 2 billion people,” UNESCO stated.
Debris, deforestation, and unnatural stress on the trails and natural resources have taken a toll on the region, with around 1,000 people attempting the climb each year.
According to National Geographic, each climber produces about 18 pounds of waste, “and the majority of this waste is left on the mountain,” leaving the mess for locals.
Seasoned trekkers emphasize the importance of sustainable expeditions for those considering the trip, but the problem persists, and Reddit users were horrified by the short clip.
“You genuinely don’t get the concept of people littering in nature. If you had the room to bring it, you have the room to take it,” observed one.
“Extremely wealthy people are toxic to society. … These people have never taken out the trash a day in their lives,” remarked another, referring to the prohibitive cost of climbing Everest.
“Humans are a plague. This is so disgusting and so sad,” said a third.
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