Massive pile of garbage on K2. Odour is nauseating
Anna Rusak,26.12.2023 14:00Nirmal Purja is a well-known Himalayan climber from Nepal who gained fame through a Netflix film. During his climb, he came across a camp on the summit of K2 littered with garbage that smelled so terrible that it made him feel nauseous. Unlike others who would have left it behind, Nirmal has decided to take responsibility and not leave the garbage on the mountain.
Wherever humans go, trash seems to follow. Unfortunately, our waste has already severely impacted our planet and oceans. It is even found in space. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that garbage has also reached high peaks. However, the pictures shared by a reputable climber are genuinely shocking.
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Nirmal Purja: The rubbish was so bad you could throw up from the smell
Nirmal Purja is a well-known Nepalese and Himalayan climber who gained fame through the documentary '14 Summits: Nothing is Impossible'. The Netflix film documents his incredible journey to climb all 14 eight-thousand-metre peaks in just seven months.
Aside from climbing, Purja is also the founder of the 'Nimsdai Foundation'. The foundation supports various education and technology projects in Himalayan communities in Nepal and Pakistan and works to clean up mountain ecosystems.
Recently, the organisation shared a photo on social media from a camp on K2 - one of the world's highest peaks. Unfortunately, the image highlighted a severe problem. The camp was surrounded by piles of rubbish emitting an unbearable stench.
"The rubbish on K2 at Camp 2 was so bad this year, our Founder @nimsdai nearly threw up from the smell," reads the organisation's Instagram.
The camp on K2 has a waste problem that includes decaying food and human waste. The main issue is that the rubbish is frozen in the ice, which is gradually melting and seeping into the groundwater along with the water.
Himalayan wants to clean mountain peaks of rubbish
Purja and his foundation are planning a unique project to address the massive amount of garbage on K2. His goal is to leave the summit clean and free of debris.
"Next year, we want to have a team of Sherpa who will have the job of cleaning full time and removing old, used and dangerous ropes. This will be a challenging and expensive project because of the remoteness of K2 and because we will have to pay for permits and full-time wages for those Sherpas working with us," reads the foundationās Instagram post.
Our responsibility is to care for the environment, especially when climbing mountains like K2. Let's hope climbers become more conscious of their impact and stop leaving rubbish on the summit.
Source: New York Post
