About five metric tonnes of waste collected from Mt Everest have been finally brought to Kathmandu. The garbage was lying for 12 days at Lukla of Solukhumbu where road network is not linked yet.A total of 8.1 metric tonnes of waste dumped in the Everest region since 1953 were collected and brought to Namche on May 29. While 3.2 metric tonnes of waste, mainly plastic and papers, are to be disposed at Namche. The rest of the waste, which includes oxygen cylinders, helicopter debris, metals, cans and bottles, have been brought to Kathmandu and kept at the office of the Everest Summiters’ Association (ESA).The government, Eco Himal, Nepal Mountaineering Association and Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee had chipped in the ESA initiative, collecting waste from the Everest region between April 17 and May 27.
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The government provided Rs 7.5 million, Carlsberg Beer Rs 2 million, NMA Rs 2 million, Laxmi Bank Rs 500,000 and donors from Sweden $110,000 for Save the Everest Campaign. The ESA initiated attempts from 2008 to collect waste dumped in the Everest. A total of 29 mountaineers were involved in collecting waste from the base-camp to 8,700m of Everest for more than a month. The yaks carried the waste from Everest to Lukla by the end of May.
Wongchu Sherpa, president of the ESA, said 4.9 metric tonnes of waste were brought to Kathmandu by air from Lukla in course of 12 days. “The garbage was kept at Lukla due to unavailability of planes to bring to Kathmandu. There are no large helicopters in the country and national flag carrier airlines do not operate flights to Lukla,” he said.
“We faced very difficulty to bring the waste to Kathmandu from Lukla. We paid Rs 50 per kg from Lukla,” said Sherpa.
“We are yet to calculate the cost of bringing a kilogramme of waste from Everest to Kathmandu.”
“We will advise the government to keep some of the materials at museums and others will be handed over to the government,” he said.
“We will make it public very soon in the presence of Prime Minister,” he said.
Sherpa said the campaign was initiated after the foreigners asked him about the situation in the Everest. “Then we started to clean Everest targeting to collect at least 8 tonnes of garbage,” he said. “The campaign will continue next year too or until the waste is cleared.”Carrying about 150kg of materials each person, about 35,000 foreign visitors accompanying some 80,000 porters and helpers travel to the Everest every year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
About 2,000 metric tonnes of waste have been dumped in the peaks and some 80 metric tonnes of waste at Everest region since 1953.
News Via The Himalayan Times
Article on Saving Mount Everest Project in United Nations Environment Programme website
Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up Expedition Team Successfully bring over 8 Tons of garbage from Mount Everest and its Trekking Trails
- Garbage carried down on Yaks and Zopkyos
- The collected garbage piled up
- The program participants
- Program in progress
- Country Director of EcoHimal Nepal and President of Everest Summiteers' Association all Happy with the success
29 May 2011
29 May is celebrated as Everest Day as it was on this day in 1953 that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa reached the summit of Mt. Everest – becoming the first ones to summit the mountain.
29 May is yet another historical day, as Saving Mount Everest project brought down a total of 8,110 kilos or 8.1 tons of garbage collected from the mountain and its trekking trails. The collected garbage was displayed for verification in Namche Bazaar (gateway to Mt. Everest) amidst an event. Almost all the members of the Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up expedition were present in the event to interact with media, local authorities, local communities and authorities from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Of the collected garbage – 3,200 kilos or 3.2 tons has been handed over to Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), the local NGO that is responsible to manage waste in the region. SPCC supported the project by providing a waiver of 50% on per kg waste for its management. Remaining waste is being carried to Lukla from where it will be flown to Kathmandu.
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation of the Government of Nepal praised and congratulated the team on successfully collecting over 8 tons of refuse from the mountain and its trekking trail as planned.
Blog and Pictures by: Neelima Shrestha, PR Consultant - Saving Mount Everest
Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up Expedition - Activities Photo
Carlsberg team Collecting Garbage
23 May, 2011
Team reaches South Col (7,920m) and South Summit (8,750m) – approx. 5 tons Garbage Collected
21 May, 2011
As per the latest updates from the Saving Mount Everest Project Clean-up expedition team, the team has collected approximately five tons of garbage abandoned by trekkers and mountaineers on the trekking trail and Mount Everest itself. The team has collected the garbage from the elevation as high as South Col (7,920m) and South Summit (8,750m). The collected garbage includes abandoned oxygen cylinders, old tents and ropes among others. The team is progressively collecting the garbage amidst the harsh weather conditions. According to the weather network, it has been snowing in Everest Base Camp and above and the temperature falls below -30 Degrees Celsius at night. The garbage on the mountain has been covered by snow after the snow fall making the collection difficult. Hence, the expedition team has moved down to base camp for a few days. The team members will climb again in a day or two as the snow starts melting.
Blog by Neelima Shrestha, PR Consultant, Saving Mount Everest Project
Everest Summiteers Association collected oxygen cylinders at South Col and they are being brought down to 2nd Camp. More than 70 oxygen cylinders are collected.
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ESA collecting oxygen cylinders and other cans at South col.
Mr. Diwas Pokhrel, General Secretary of Everest Summiteers Association and Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering-Association honored 9 Everest Summiteers from Nepal Nijamati Karmachari on behalf of ESA and NMA.
Everest Summiteers organized a meeting under the presidency of Joint Secretary for ministry of tourism and civil aviation Mr. Laxman Bhattarai at Everest base camp.
BIG BAG – bags dispatched to Everest Region to bring down Garbage
Big Bag has donated 697 bags for Saving Mount Everest Project of which 500 have been dispatched to the region to bring the collected garbage down.
Carlsberg Team to Help Collect Garbage from Lukla to Syangboche
Carlsberg team of 11 from Denmark, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore will help collect garbage from the trekking trail between Lukla to Syangboche. The team also comprises of media personnel from Malaysia. Carlsberg is one of the supports of the project.
Group in Lukla
Blog by Neelima Shrestha, PR Consultant, Saving Mount Everest Project
Waste Management in Khumbu Region – Opinions and Perspectives
Pheriche Tengboche
Saving Mount Everest Project Support Team has now trekked up to Pheriche 4,260m above sea level on 22nd April. To acclimatize, the team members spend a day in Pheriche and went to Nangkharjong that is about 5100m. The doctor at Himalayan Rescue Association Hospital at Pheriche cautioned that it could be life threatening if trekkers trekking above 3000m do not take time to acclimatize in higher altitude. Pheriche is a very small settlement with just 21 households, of which 13 are lodges. While ascending up to support the Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up Expedition in the Everest Base Camp the team has been interacting with locals and visitors in the region about their opinion on waste management in Khumbu region.
Ms. Dawa Phuti Sherpa, a local businesswoman who runs Paradise Lodge in Lukla and who is also socially active in the region through women’s group and was an ex-member of Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone Management Council is of opinion that the waste management has improved remarkably in the past decade but there is still more to do. She has been running her lodge in Lukla since past 20 years. As part of waste management system, beer bottles have been completely banned in the Khumbu region since past eight years, she informed. She also informed that the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a local NGO that is responsible of managing waste in the region, initiated this and the locals have been extremely cooperative and supportive in forbidding the use of beer bottles. She opines that both local and visitors are equally responsible to keep the region clean. A waste management system coupled with information and awareness raising programs could provide an effective solution for sustainable waste management in the region.
According to Nima Doma, who runs Tyangboche Guest house, approximately 500 kgs of waste – cans and plastics are generated by individual lodges/hotels during a season. She further added that all canned food, plastic wrapped food and bottled water has to be imported in the region, which costs a lot and in addition disposing these is immensely challenging. She suggested that if all the lodges and hotels in the region promote local cuisine using locally available resources, then it could significantly reduce the non-biodegradable waste in the region and at the same time promote the rich Sherpa culture.
Saving Mount Everest 2011-2012 Exhibition in Everest Base Camp
The Saving Mount Everest 2011-2012 project team has decided to put up the Saving Mount Everest 2011-2012 Exhibition in Everest Base Camp – 5,360m above sea level. The exhibition will portray and inform the visitors about the rationale behind the project and its objectives. The team is doing necessary preparations to set up the exhibition.
Preparations for the Saving Mount Everest Clean UpEexpedition
The climbers and support staff has been selected for this challenging task to clean-up up to eight tons of garbage from Mount Everest and its trekking trails over the period of three months. The clean-up expedition team comprises of a total of approximately 40 experienced Nepali mountaineers, expedition leaders and high-altitude porters. The base for the clean-up expedition team will be Everest Base Camp – 5,360m above sea level.
The Everest Summiteers Association (ESA) of Nepal is coordinating this three months long clean-up expedition. Saving Mount Everest project focuses on the clean-up and waste management in Mount Everest and surrounding areas. Hence, the clean-up expedition will not go beyond the south summit.
Orientation to the Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up Expedition Team
20 April 2011
The Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Centre (SWMRMC) of the Ministry of Local Development of the Government of Nepal provided orientation on waste collection and segregation to the climbers and support staff of the Saving Mount Everest Clean-Up expedition. The Minister and the State Minister along with the Secretary for Ministry of Local Development participated to support and extend best wishes for the project. Dr. Sumitra Amatya, General Manager, SWMRMC facilitated the orientation program. During the concluding session national media were also invited. Representatives from the organizers - Everest Summiteers Association Nepal and EcoHimal were present during the program.
Preparation in Kathmandu and Departure of Cleaning Crew to Everest
Packing in KTM
Preparation in KTM
Gear Loading at Airport in Kathmadu
Cheaking Counter
Departing to Lukla
Chief Secretary of Gov. of Nepal
Gears and food loading on the flight to Lukla via Agni Air
Agni Air Supporting for the Cleaning Team
Cleaning Team Flying via Agni Air
Press Conference in Kathmandu Nepal
Thursday, March 23rd , 2011
A press conference was organized in Kathmandu, Nepal to foster awareness about the project among the media personnel, private and public sectors; national and international organizations and general audience and to garner further support for the project. During the press conference Saving Mount Everest Project Poster was launched by the chief guest Mr. Kishor Thapa, Secretary for Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal.
The press conference program was graced by prominent personalities of the Nepalese Tourism Sector and almost all the media houses in Nepal. The press conference was jointly organized by Everest Summiteers' Association (ESA) and Eco Himal Nepal in collaboration with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
In the loving memory of our founder member and world record holder Late Babu Chhiri Sherpa. Everest Summiteers Association (ESA) is inaugurating Babu Chhiri Memorial Museum coinciding with World Tourism week on 25th September 2005. During the inauguration ceremony, a magazine dedicated to Babu Chhiri's life and his achievements is being published and will be distributed to all the distinguished guests, families and friends, sponsors, supporters and well wishers. The magazine contains stories by many Nepali climbers, Everest expedition records in chronological order, stories about some extra-ordinary achievements in the field of mountaineering and is decorated with breath-taking photographs of the Everest region by David Breashears.