Kathmandu, May 31
A 20 time summitter of Mount Everest has suggested that the Nepal government ban climbing the highest peak of the world for two consecutive years so that the waste on the mountain including bodies of deceased climbers can be collected and removed.
In a video interview with Onlinekhabar, Sherpa, who also climbed Everest this season, says the ban is necessary because the climbers and the cleaners cannot go together in a single season. Further, around 150 climbers should be mobilsed for the cleanup, he says.
“We have to clean up the passage from the base camp to Camp IV. If we collect all the waste there, it will amount to 10 to 12 tonnes.”
He says bodies of people killed around 15 years ago can also be found on the way to the peak.
Recalling that he was a part of a cleanup team around 12 years ago, Sherpa says the government and nongovernment bodies have been allocating funds to clean up Everest, but they have been apparently misused.
In another context, he said many climbers died on Everest this year, not because of heavy traffic, but due to wrong weather forecasts.
He, however, recommends that the government be strict on medical checkup of climbers. If there are doctors issuing fake medical reports, they should be booked, he advises.
