|
|
Twenty Nepali climbers are setting off to Qomolangma this week to try and
remove decades-old garbage from the mountain in the world's highest ever
clean-up campaign, organizers said on Monday.
Many foreign and Nepali climbers have cleaned Qomolangma, also known as
Mount Everest, in the past, but Namgyal Sherpa, leader of the Extreme Everest
Expedition 2010, said no one had dared to clean above 8,000 meters (26,246
feet), an area known as the "death zone" for the lack of oxygen and treacherous
terrain. Some 300 lives have been lost there since 1953.
Namgyal Sherpa and his team of seasoned climbers, carrying empty rucksacks
and special bags, will risk the zone's thin air and freezing temperatures to
pick empty oxygen bottles, gas canisters, torn tents, ropes, and utensils lying
between the South Col and the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit.
"This is the first time we are cleaning at that height, in the death zone.
It is very difficult and dangerous," said Namgyal Sherpa, who has climbed the
world's tallest peak, seven times.
"The garbage was buried under snow in the past. But now it has come out on
the surface because of the melting of snow due to global warming," the
30-year-old said. "The rubbish is creating problems for climbers ... Some items
of garbage are from Hillary's time."
The mountain has become known as being the world's highest garbage dump.
Many climbers leave their gear and trash behind as they descend due to
exhaustion and lack of oxygen.
Namgyal Sherpa's team hopes to bring down at least 2,000 kg of garbage and
the corpse of a climber killed two years ago.
"I have seen three corpses lying there for years," Namgyal Sherpa said.
"We'll bring down the body of a Swiss climber who died in the mountain in
2008 and cremate it below the base camp for which we have got the family's
consent."
New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa were the
first to ascend to Qomolangma 's summit in 1953. That feat opened Nepal as a
popular tourist destination. Since then more than 4,000 climbers have since
scaled the mountain and tourism, including climbing, is a key source of income
for Nepal, among the world's poorest countries.
|
|
发表于 2016-7-10 17:42:02