A Cleaning Team Collected 11 Tons of Trash, Four Bodies, and One Skeleton on the 'Roof of the World'

A cleaning team on Mount Everest says that collecting the massive amounts of frozen waste near the summit of the mountain will likely take years. This team, consisting of Nepalese army soldiers and local Sherpas, has managed to collect 11 tons of trash, four bodies, and one skeleton from Everest, known as the highest mountain and the 'Roof of the World,' during this spring, which is the most favorable season for climbing. The leader of the Sherpa members in the team stated that currently, 40 to 50 tons of waste, consisting of old tents, food packages, gas canisters, oxygen bottles, and bundles of tents and ropes, are layered in the highest camp of Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,000 meters. Since the first ascent of Everest in 1953, thousands of climbers have reached the summit, leaving behind not only footprints but also waste. In recent years, the Nepalese government has mandated climbers to bring their trash back; otherwise, they will lose their deposited money. Although this government requirement and the increased awareness of climbers regarding environmental issues have significantly reduced the waste left on Everest, collecting the waste accumulated over previous decades requires several years of effort. The Sherpa leader identified the lack of oxygen at high altitudes, adverse weather conditions, and extracting waste from inside ice blocks as the most serious challenges his team faces. According to him, retrieving one of the deceased from inside the ice took two days, and the team had to return to lower camps once due to severe cold weather and resumed their efforts after the weather improved. He added that another body was located at an altitude of 8,400 meters, and his team managed to transfer it to Camp 2 after 18 hours of effort. The oldest waste collected so far is a rechargeable battery from a flashlight, left since 1957. The extremely adverse weather conditions and severe lack of oxygen on Mount Everest cause climbers to primarily focus on saving their lives and not pay enough attention to environmental issues. New research: If global warming is not controlled, the glaciers of the Himalayas will lose 80% of their volume. Dozens were killed in a Nepalese plane crash. Afsaneh Hosseini-Fard became the first Iranian woman to conquer the 'deadliest peak in the world.' The mystery of a lake filled with skeletons in the Himalayas and one of the most mysterious archaeological areas in the world has been discovered.