A viral video shared from Mount Everest shows the stark reality of how much waste humans have left in one of the most remote places in the world.
Shared on TikTok by EverestOfficial (@everest_officials), the 25-second video of wasted camping equipment strewn across the mountain has over 5 million views. The video shows piles of trash and leftover climbing equipment, including oxygen tanks, dozens of abandoned tents, pots and pans, and plastic bins, all highlighted against the mountain's white surface.
"Even the top of the world isn't safe from our mess," the caption reads. "Should Everest be closed to climbers until it's cleaned up?"
Standing 29,032 feet, Everest is the highest mountain in the world and is part of the 1,500-mile-long Himalayan Mountains. First summited in 1953, it is inside Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that receives over 100,000 visitors each year. As commercial expeditions grew in the 1980s and now cost over $100,000, so did the waste problem.
Hundreds of climbers and supporting guides move through the same narrow routes during each short climbing season, wearing down footpaths and straining the region's resources. According to National Geographic, every climber generates around 18 pounds of trash that gets left on the mountain. With rising global temperatures, melting snow and ice are revealing decades-old debris.
For local communities, the consequences of this tall mess are real. Trash from the mountain washes into the local watershed during rainy seasons, threatening drinking water and public health.
The crowding problem on Everest also reflects a large pattern of disrespect for nature and natural spaces.
Respecting nature isn't just symbolic or something that makes you feel good. It protects ecosystems that people are increasingly relying on to stay healthy and cool as well as preserves these vital spaces for future generations of people and wildlife. Sustainable expeditions and reminders to friends and family to take care of natural spaces can go a long way in preserving the planet.
"I stupidly thought climbers of Everest would be nature lovers," another admitted.
Most agreed that the mountain "should be closed completely while all the rubbish is cleaned up."
And there's good news for them, at least: According to The Kathmandu Post, Nepal is planning a five-year program to address the problem in a range of ways, including a move of base camp and plans to reclaim used rope.
Everest is an important tourism driver and provides the livelihood of many Nepali citizens, but with more attention, the massive challenge of climbing and descending Everest can be maintained without littering its storied landscape.
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