Nepal will, for the first time, cap the number of climbers to tackle the trash piling up on Himalayan high peaks.
According to dpa and other outlets on the 19th (local time), Nepalese authorities recently unveiled a Five-year plan to keep Himalayan peaks clean (2025–2029).
To reduce trash left on major peaks, including Everest (elevation 8,848.86 meters), the world's highest, and to address overcrowding, authorities plan to impose climber caps tailored to conditions on each high peak.
However, specific rules or criteria for the headcount limits are still being drawn up. During the COVID-19 period and at other times, there were calls for limits, but this is the first official restriction.
At the Himalayan base camp and in the high-altitude "Death Zone," bodies of climbers exposed as warming melts the perennial snow, along with oxygen cylinders, plastic, ropes, and other trash, are strewn about. The military and civic groups have led cleanup campaigns, but they have had limits in fundamentally solving the problem.
The five-year plan also strengthens the existing rule requiring each person to bring back at least 8 kilograms of trash. Climbers must attend a cleanup campaign briefing before their ascent and must record the amount of trash collected when descending.
Sherpa Kami Rita, who holds the record for the most Everest ascents (31), said in an interview that trash collection should be given to Sherpas as a job and noted that this is the only way to keep the Himalayan peaks clean.
Khimlal Gautam, who led the Everest height survey team, also said of the plan that while these efforts are a first step in the right direction, success ultimately depends on how effectively it is carried out.