Nepal’s Extreme Everest Expedition 2010
On May 1, twenty Nepali Sherpa hikers led by Namgyal Sherpa will begin an expedition into the uppermost portions of Mount Everest. Along the way, they will try and collect as much trash as possible. Once they arrive in the ‘Death Zone,’ however, the focus will turn to bringing solace to the five or possibly more climbers whose dead bodies lie stranded near the summit.
Mount Everest lies within the Himalayas, right between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China. At 29,029’ high, Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain above sea level, not to mention “the highest point on the Earth’s continent crust.” (Wiki) Sadly, it is also the world’s highest garbage dump, as more than 2 tons of trash litters its shiny, snow-coated surface.
Ever since Edmund Hillary successfully ascended Mount Everest in 1953, thousands of daredevils have followed his steps and left behind a plethora of trash like “empty oxygen bottles, gas canisters, torn tents, ropes, and utensils.” (Reuters) Each year, foreign and Nepali environmentalists alike climb the mountain to collect the trash, yet piles of it still remain. And included among some of these piles are dead bodies. Hoping to once in for all ameliorate this unwanted and environmentally unfriendly situation are Nepal’s Sherpas.
The Sherpas represent an ethnic group whose primary function is to care for the mountains of the Himalayas, as well as assist with mountaineering expeditions. In addition, the Sherpa are responsible for the Extreme Everest Expedition, which is a non-profit clean up project being sponsored by various third-party companies interested in either improving the environment, or helping improve Nepal’s tourism.
Led by experienced mountaineer Namgyal Sherpa, 30, the clean-up team will first make camp at the South Col mountain pass, which rights lies underneath the ‘Death Zone,’ an area of the mountain so high in altitude—approximately 26,246’ above sea-level—that the temperature is below freezing, the air is dangerously thin, and the terrain is awfully rough. After cleaning the lower slopes, Namgyal and his team (equipped with “empty rucksacks and special bags” [Reuters]), will then begin the treacherous climb from the South Col to Mount Everest’s 29,035’ summit.
“This is the first time we are cleaning at that height, the death zone. It is very difficult and dangerous,” Namgyal told Reuters.
Especially important to Namgyal is the retrieval of dead corpses. He said, “I have seen three corpses lying there for years.”
In particular, he spoke of a Swiss climber who died while trying to climb the ‘Death Zone’ in 2008. “We’ll bring the body,” he said, “and cremate it below the base camp for which we got the family’s consent.”
Can he and his crew succeed? Well, according to the Associated Press (AP), Namgyal has climbed Mount Everest seven times, while one of his team members, Long Dorje, has accomplished the endeavor a whopping 14 times. Plus “all of the team members have visited the summit at least once.”
By V Saxena on 27-04-2010
