Climbing Everest: Task that leaves environment gasping

One peak, one month, 700 climbers. Touching the Himalayan skies, the Mount Everest has long called out to the brave of heart and will and this climbing season was no different with an average of more than 23 people summiting the world’s tallest mountain each day.

But this rush to conquer has extracted a toll on the fragile Himalayan ecosystem with mountaineers leaving behind a garbage footprint and the microclimate of the region being impacted, say experts.

What is needed is a balance between the economics of the region and its ecology, they say, calling for a restriction in numbers.

Many thousands have climbed the 8,848 metre high mountain since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the peak in 1953.

According to Alan Arnette, eminent mountaineer and speaker, over 640 people made it to the Everest last May and this year it was over 700.

While May is the spring climbing season, the autumn season, which is longer and stretches over two months in September and October, sees the same numbers.

In monetary terms, such expeditions add significantly to Nepal's economy. In a 2011 study, former Nepal Mountaineering Association president Ang Tshering Sherpa estimated that the total economic contribution from Mt. Everest expedition teams in one climbing season of Spring 2011 was over Nepali Rs 64 crore (approx USD 9 million).

However, the effect of the incessant stamping up the Everest has left its impression on the Himalayan ecosystem.

Large numbers of climbers not only leave huge footprints in the form of garbage, but also "physically assault" the land, said Anil Prakash Joshi, green activist and founder of the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO).

"This causes deterioration in the microclimatic condition of the region and also adversely affects lower altitude areas. Repeated disturbances generate energy, leading to retreating processes in the glacier system," Joshi told PTI.

He added that many alpine zones, where temperature is usually between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius, have begin to show shrubby growth, an indicator of rising general temperature in the area.

Arjun Vajpai, 25, who recently summited the Kanchenjunga and climbed the Everest in 2010, feels the balance between economy and ecosystem can only be achieved when climbers take responsibility for their actions.

"It is ok if more and more people want to attempt Everest as long as they do it responsibly. By that I mean two things- They should undergo proper fitness and mountaineering training before attempting the Everest, and second they should be responsible towards nature and the eco-system," he said.

"Humans come from nature and our ancestors have been living with nature since the beginning of time. Why can't we do it in today's age then?" Vajpai asked.

As concerns mount over the state of the environment, change has begun.

After tonnes of garbage, including used oxygen cylinders, broken equipment, food waste and human excrement, accumulated on the mountain, the Nepal government put in place some regulations in place two years ago.

For last some years, all climbers are required to bring back their waste. If not, they are charged a fine of $4,000 for their negligence towards the environment.

Joshi suggested the Nepal government can limit the number of people going on Everest expeditions, as is done for the Mansarovar Yatra, a lake in China’s Tibet region considered holy by Hindus.

Since there has already been a lot of damage in the system, laws relating to expeditions must be enforced, he said.

"Besides, some serious high eco-tax must be charged on such expeditions and the same tax be used to pay sherpas to collect garbage or any other material of hazardous nature," he added.

Vajpai, who was the youngest Indian to summit Everest in 2010 when he was just 18, said the situation is "not so bad" now after the climbing community realised the "big problem".

"This is a big misconception that there is a lot of garbage on Everest. Yes, it was true at some point in time but the mountain is a lot cleaner now. Everyone in the climbing community has realized this as a big problem and the expeditions bring back their own trash," he said.

Everest expeditions, that may appear to be an attempt to satiate the personal sense of achievement, can help raise awareness with respect to "over 200 peaks still untouched" in Himalayas, Vajpai said.

"It is my goal to raise awareness about outdoors and mountaineering in every household of India. I feel India as a nation has a very big potential to develop as a mountaineering nation...So much to explore and so much potential to grow as a mountaineering nation. I hope through each mountain I climb and through the attention which it gets, I am able to raise some awareness," he said.