Nepal tackles mountain litter louts

Scenic beauty from afar, but parts of Everest are a dump

By Stephen Gibbs

The Nepalese authorities are planning tough regulations to deter foreign mountaineers from leaving rubbish behind on all its Himalayan peaks.

A spokesman for the tourism ministry said those climbing mountains in the country would have to pay the government a deposit, which would only be refunded if they brought back their rubbish.

A similar scheme is already in place in the Everest region.

Thousands of mountaineers from all over the world head for the mountains of Nepal every year, and leave behind hundreds of tonnes of rubbish.

Decades of rubbish

In the freezing temperatures of high altitude, much of it never degrades, and many mountains are littered with junk from 50 years of climbing.

Will the scheme will promote environmentally sound activities?

A scheme in place in the Khumbu region around Everest forces mountaineers to pay a deposit of up to $4000 before they begin their expedition.

The money is only returned when they have disposed of their rubbish properly.

Some items which cannot be recycled locally, including empty oxygen bottles and used batteries, have to be sent back to the climbers' home countries before the deposit is repaid.

It is hoped the scheme will prevent some of Nepal's less famous mountains from suffering the same fate as Everest.

The waste removal rules came too late for the mountain: its South Col climbers' camp is known as the world's highest rubbish tip.

Efforts have been made to clear it up recently. But some things are deliberately left behind.

For religious, as well as practical reasons, most of the almost 200 bodies of climbers who have died on Everest, remain on the mountain.