Mount Everest climbers will begin bringing their own faeces back to base camp after experts warned that the world’s highest peak had ‘begun to stink.’
The new rules come after fears that excrement left on Everest does not entirely decompose, causing some climbers to become ill.
“Our mountains have begun to stink,” Mingma Sherpa, chairman of the Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, told the BBC.
Prior to the new guidelines, climbers scaling Mount Everest would either dig tunnels to use the lavatory or go out in the open.
However, with temperatures known to plummet to -60°C (-76°F), excrement does not completely decompose, leaving human stools visible on the rocks.
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To address this issue, Pasang Lhamu has planned to mandate people climbing Mount Everest and nearby Mount Lhotse to order poo bags at base camp to collect their faeces.
According to the BBC, these will be ‘checked on their return’.
While the concept of carrying your excrement around may sound awful, the poo bags are specifically designed to make the collection process as considerate as possible.
According to the BBC, the chemicals in the bags not only freeze the excrement, but also make it “largely odourless.”
Each bag may be used five to six times, so most climbers will only need to bring two with them on their journey.
According to Mr Mingma, this is not the first time climbers have received poo bags.
“Mountaineers have been using such bags on Mount Denali (the highest peak in North America) and in the Antarctic as well, that is why we have been advocating for it,” he said.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
