A team of Nepali mountaineers will leave Kathmandu tomorrow heading for Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, where they hope to climb to more than 8,000 metres (26, 246ft) to clear the mountain’s “death zone” of tonnes of rubbish and remove the bodies of dead climbers.
Though many foreign and Nepali expeditions have set out to clear parts of the mountain in the past, Namgyal Sherpa, leader of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, said no one had tried to clear at that height. “This is the first time we are cleaning the death zone. It is very difficult and dangerous,” said Namgyal, who has climbed Everest seven times.
The zone earned its name because it is almost impossible to survive the harsh temperatures and the thin air of such altitudes, where there is a third as much oxygen as at sea level for more than a couple of days. Anyone who remains within the zone for longer will almost certainly perish.
The climbers will use special bags to collect the bodies – which lie between the South Col and the 8,850m (29,035ft) summit – before lowering them down the snow and icefields of the mountain and then carrying them across the glaciers to base camp. The expedition hopes to retrieve five bodies, including that of a climber killed two years ago.
How will you know you’ve entered the Death Zone if the landscape isn’t littered with dead bodies?
I wonder if Mike Rowe will feature this in an episode of “Dirty Jobs”?
We used to conquer the extreme ends of the earth, now we have to protect them.
This is very sad, but it’s good news if you’ve read Jon Krakauer’s book.
I’d say leave the dead where they fell unless you have some reason to think they actually would have wanted to come down from the mountain.
Organic material will feed the local wild life. Remove the plastic and metal. Glass is rock. Unless you just want to remove it because you don’t like the view, leave it. Carting out as much as I saw in the picture would be a mistake. You could haul in a small tumbler and dump bottles and rocks inside and tumble for a while then dump the sand. Repeat as needed.
I’d say leave the dead where they fell unless you have some reason to think they actually would have wanted to come down from the mountain.
Agree with you there.
Organic material will feed the local wild life.
There is no local wild life. It’s a death zone. I don’t think even lichens are up that high.
Interesting that Everest turned into a tourist destination. And what do tourists leave behind?
Pack it in, pack it out.
#6 How long before the moon becomes the “Next Big Destination Vacation” spot? With the space program being turned over to private enterprise, I feel it is only a question of when, not if. Think of all the trash that will be left behind up there.
That is crazy. Leave the bodies.
There are strict rules for Everest expeditions. Litterers are banned from ever reentering Nepal. Bodies are removed as an act of respect for the spirits of the deceased, so they don’t bring bad luck to the mountain.
There’s gotta be trash up there from the 1900s. I wonder if it could be used for museum exhibits.
Why clean the mountains where few ever go when the valleys are crowded with people and filled with human waste?
Just more misplaced emphasis keeping the earth a reserve for the rich and privileged.
Community service?
#11 you got a good point. Much of the people in that region live in relative squalor, while the elite of the world mess up the heights above.
Flying a few thousands miles to wthe east into China and you’ll see that same thing. Some of the factory cities of China are scarier than anything Upton Sinclair could have dreamt up.
7,
That’s why I think Virgin Galactic will be very successful.
They should leave the bodies there as a reminder to the bored rich Caucasians that they have a 1 in 15 chance of winding up like the bodies they see.
I find it fascinating that these people will spend 70-100k to take a 1 in 15 chance of buying the farm, but will not risk going to Harlem at night because that is too dangerous.
Cursor_
As Everest is going to be a constant climbers location and it seems to be a worldwide problem ,why don’t they develop a high altitude rescue helicopter. A helicopter with larger blades and a carberation system that will change and adapt at high altitude. Then establish a permanent high altitude enclosed base that manufactures its own oxygen.I would be far more interested in seeing the view from the top of Everest than I would be a few minute ride into space. We’re developing very exspensive short lived jets that go Mach 9 but we still can not get rescues made at altitude in bad weather.
That should be called the Darwin Award Zone. Bunch of rich, bored dumbasses. Some of them have left widows and orphans behind for the sake of a stupid adventure. I hope their families are proud.
A helicopter did touch down on the summit of Everest in 2005. Doing body retrieval is whole ‘nother can of worms.
Retrieving trash and bodies from the death zone is a herculean task. Most climbers will not attempt to help other living climbers, for to do so jeopardizes their own lives. To bring back trash and dead bodies is amazing.
I have heard that one successful method of clearing things like spent O2 bottles is to offer the Sherpas a bounty on each bottle they can bring down. Those folks make very little, so paying them for items is one way of getting it done.
Climbers should be required to leave a refundable “death deposit” with the authorities. If they make it back down, they get the money back, If not, it pays for the body retrieval costs.
On second thought, they just went down to Buy’N’Large in Kathmandu and bought a few WALL*E units. Everyone back to their floating chaise loungers. Blue is the new Red.
The remarkable Eurocopter flight breaks the World Record for the highest altitude landing and take-off ever, for any flying machine on Earth, and sets an undeniable milestone in the history of aviation.
According to Eurocopter, here’s what happened: After taking off from its base camp Lukla on May 14th, 2005 at 2,866 meters (9,403ft) Didier Delsalle piloted his Ecureuil AS350B3 to the top of Mount Everest at 8,850 meters (29,035ft).
As required by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI – International Aeronautical Federation), the aircraft remained landed on ground more than 2 minutes on the top of the world before flying back to Lukla.
What an amazing feat. That’s 435 ft. higher then the service ceiling on my Cessna 310, and he has to hover to land and take off. I doubt I could take off at that altitude.
Thanks Bubbaray for the link!
And, of course the usual global warming culprit is in there…
Climbing Everest has become the ugliest kind of tourism — many spoiled rich people trashing the place in search of some personal bragging rights.
The mountain needs severe regulation — including a “pack it out” rule with huge fines for non-compliance. (big enough to deter very rich people)
It’s unlikely Nepal will implement such a rule because Everest is a cash-cow for a poor country.
BTW, despite all of this, I highly recommend Nepal — but go over to the Annapurna Range instead (and PACK IT OUT!)
They should force the various world militaries to do the cleanup to pay for their citizens garbage tossing habits.
It would be good training too. The 10th Mountain division would get valuable high altitude training.
Uhm… I don’t really know what to think… but I have a question I’d like to ask you in private, ideally by email. How can I reach you?