A team of climbers have collected half a tonne of junk littered on the world's highest peak Mt Everest, expedition members said Monday.
The garbage was mostly left behind by mountaineers attempting to climb the Everest as hundreds of kilos of essential items are hauled up the mountain in preparation of the climb each year.Team leader Ken Noguchi told reporters here that the expedition collected garbage on the northern Tibetan side of the mountain.
"During our mission, we collected 500 kg of garbage from Advance Base Camp at 6,400 metres and hauled it down the mountain to base camp located at 5,200 metres," Noguchi told reporters. "The garbage we collected includes tin cans, old tents, old food, medicines and other trash."
He added some of the item he collected would be displayed in Japan to raise awareness about the pollution on the mountains while the rest was "disposed off properly".
Noguchi has in the past organised similar expeditions and hopes this will not be his last. "For the future, I would be keen on studying the impact of global warming on glaciers in the Himalayas, he said.
The world's highest peak is well known for littering by climbers. Most of the garbage is never brought down by the mountaineers. Dozens of bodies also litter the mountainside.
Advertisement
This year alone, over 150 climbers have successfully reached the summit of the 8,848 metre-high Everest from the Nepalese side while four people have died in the attempt.
Advertisement
LIN/M
