The number of adventurers with their sites on Mt Everest is increasing. In 2023, Nepal authorized 473 climbing permits, not including Sherpa guides and support staff. Unfortunately, the popularity of the peak has caused a shitty problem.
"The problem of human waste on Everest was very bad," says Diwas Pokhrel, first vice president of Everest Summiteers Association. "[It was] polluting the mountain environment."
Now, new rules require climbers to pack out their poop.
From CNN:
"Each person produces 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of excrement a day and they will spend 2 weeks on the higher camps for the summit push," Sindurakar explained, adding that each climber will be given two poop bags, which can each be used six times.
The bags contain chemicals to solidify the human waste and make it odorless, Sindurakar said, and Nepal's Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality will issue some 8,000 bags this season.
