While the COVID-19 pandemic had brought most travel to a standstill, this very phase proved a boon for nature. Amid the pandemic-imposed lockdowns, Nepalese climbers have managed to remove over 2.2 tons of waste from the Everest Base Camp in a span of 47 days. This has given a fresh breath of life to the base camp, as per news reports.
A team of 12 climbers, led by mountaineer Dawa Steven Sherpa, covered a cumulative distance of more than 450 kilometres around Mount Everest. It took a Swiss shoemaker brand, to understand the adverse effect of the various mountaineering expeditions to the world’s highest peak. This initiative, launched by Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, kicked off in September 2020 when all the mountaineering activity was stalled due the pandemic. The Everest Base Camp has seen more than 10,500 expeditions that have been attempted on Mount Everest ever since 1905. All these expedition starts by pitching the tent at the Everest Base Camp. This huge amount of human activity leads to the base camp area getting very polluted.
About the cleanliness drive
Owing to the pandemic, this drive that was supposed to start in early 2020 was postponed due to the lockdown. The drive that finally began in September was able to clean the base camp areas of Cho Oyu (8,188m), Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), and Makalu (8,485m) peaks. Dawa Steven Sherpa and his team of professional climbers, cleaners, sorters, porters and packers led the inaugural cleanliness drive. It is this support staff whose livelihood was massively impacted due to the stalling of all mountaineering activity due to the pandemic.
Strengthening the local community
The Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, is an outcome of the company’s commitment to environmental preservation and social responsibility. The expedition was able to collect over two tons of waste, half of which was removed from the Death Zone. This was processed by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee. This expedition was able to provide critical income to the local communities of the Himalayan region, that hugely depending on mountaineering expeditions for their livelihood.
Why was this important?
Due to their remote access and extreme harsh conditions, these areas that see heavy human traffic have rarely been cleaned. This has caused an amassing of tons of garbage that pollute the Himalyan glaciers, which are a source of freshwater for irrigation, drinking and hydroelectricity for the 800 million people downstream. The project has been able to restore the base camps to their pristine nature by collecting garbage that included plastic waste, beer cans, oxygen cylinders, batteries and other food & organic waste.
What’s next?
According to Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, the second phase of the project will take place over 2021, under which teams will clean up the base camps of Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Dhaulagiri (8,167m), Manaslu (8,156m), Annapurna (8,091m), as well as the Everest Base Camp for a third time.
And while we are on the topic of Mount Everest, did you know that Mount Everest just got taller by ~86cm? If not, you could read about it here.
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