KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — One of the top Mount Everest guides expressed concerns Wednesday about growing piles of trash at the summit as he was honored by his government on the occasion of Everest Day.
Sherpa guide Kami Rita, who has climbed Mount Everest 30 times, was honored in Kathmandu by Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the anniversary of the first successful summit of New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Kami Rita said he was very concerned about the build-up of debris coming to the surface as ice and snow melt from the summit.
“It is very necessary to draw our attention to this immediately,” he said, adding that Everest Day should really be celebrated through government funding campaigns to clean up the camps near the summit.
There are cleaning campaigns on the mountain almost every year. A team of Nepalese soldiers were still on the mountain picking up trash left behind by previous expeditions.
“At the moment, not enough waste has been removed from camp 3 or 4,” says Kami Rita. “There have been clean-up campaigns, but they were all for camp 2 or lower.”
Kami Rita also said that Sherpa guides working on the mountain should have better conditions and benefits.
“There should be an increased insurance amount to 6,000,000 rupees ($45,000) and a provident fund,” he said.
The 54-year-old guide had climbed the 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) summit twice this month, breaking his own record for most successful climbs.
His biggest competitor is fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa, who has 27 successful climbs to his name.
Kami Rita first climbed Everest in 1994 and has made the journey almost every year since. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are critical to the safety and success of foreign climbers who aspire to be on top of the world every year.
His father was one of the first Sherpa mountain guides. In addition to his climbs of Everest, Kami Rita has climbed several other peaks that are among the highest in the world, including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.
In addition to Kami Rita, several climbers and community members were honored.
