For many, climbing Mount Everest is the adventure of a lifetime. Each year, adventurers shell out tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of attempting the world’s highest peak. But climbing the mountain is risky, and 2023 was the deadliest season on record. So why is climbing Mount Everest so expensive? And given the risks involved, should it cost more than it does?
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00:00As treacherous as this crossing is, for many, climbing Mount Everest is the adventure of
00:12a lifetime.
00:14Some climbers shell out as much as $100,000 for a chance to reach the summit.
00:21A major part of the expense is paying the experienced guides who make their living on
00:26the mountain, but it's dangerous work.
00:31340 people have lost their lives on Everest in the last century, a third of them were
00:37guides.
00:38It's been a long time since I've seen such a beautiful view of the mountains, and I don't
00:45know why I'm here.
00:46I've lost a lot of my friends, and it's sad, but I have to come back.
00:55But the high death toll hasn't deterred thrill-seekers, and the rapidly expanding tourist industry
01:01is straining the ecosystem and the local economy.
01:12So why is climbing Mount Everest so expensive?
01:16And given the risks involved, is it expensive enough?
01:22Considering the danger, it's no surprise that mountain guides are one of the biggest
01:26expenses in summiting Everest.
01:33Phodwa Wangchu has touched Everest's peak 14 times already.
02:03He begins every climb with a puja ceremony, praying for safe passage and paying respect
02:32to the mountain.
02:34Even with his success rate, he never underestimates the deadly risks.
02:57Over the next several weeks, this group of 16 will climb for hours on end in total darkness,
03:04face the threat of avalanches and storms, and cross deadly passageways.
03:09Phodwa Wangchu and his team of experienced guides are their best chance of making it
03:15to the summit and surviving.
03:16It gives you a lot of confidence.
03:20You know, when your Sherpa has 15, 16 summits like some of these Sherpas here, when you're
03:25at high altitude and you're in those situations and they tell you, you know, it's okay, it's
03:29going to be okay, it's very reassuring that they've summited so many times.
03:35It's more than just mentally reassuring.
03:38On the mountain, the choices guides make directly affect whether a climber lives.
03:49The next morning, another group of climbers is gearing up for its expedition.
03:58It takes a bit of time, not to put it, but it saves your foot on the minus 30 or 50 sometimes.
04:08Near base camp at 5,364 meters, climbing guides lead a vital training course.
04:17Without this refresher, climbers won't know how to work with their specific expedition team.
04:24The guides are using the limited time they have today to review how best to handle steep
04:29inclines and to teach this team how to problem solve on the spot.
04:47The course is one of the services included in a mountain guide's cost.
05:00Guides only work with experienced high altitude mountaineers, a requirement of the Nepalese
05:05government.
05:06But that doesn't mean the climbers are ready to brave Everest's extreme climate yet.
05:14I think if you are talking about high altitude mountaineering, it's important to do this
05:20at least every six months.
05:23It keeps your body ready for a lack of oxygen.
05:30I came here by helicopter, which was not the best idea.
05:34The first days were quite hard.
05:38It'll be Ismail's second attempt at summiting Everest.
05:42He confronted the danger that awaits his new team over a decade ago.
05:47We almost reached 8,500, but because of the very unfavorable weather conditions, I had
05:54to return.
05:55So the summit was very close.
05:57So after 11 years, I am back.
06:02Ismail averted catastrophe in his first summit attempt, but not everyone is so lucky.
06:09When climbers are critically injured, guides have to be prepared to switch an expedition
06:14to a rescue and provide emergency relief.
06:19In May 2023, a team of Sherpa guides rescued a climber from Everest's death zone.
06:27Over the course of six hours, the guides carried him on their backs down to Camp 3.
06:37Since the 2019 season, as a safety measure, Nepal has required every climber to be accompanied
06:43by at least one climbing guide.
06:46And choosing a local guide has its distinct benefits on Everest.
06:51Many of these mountain guides are Sherpas, an ethnic group native to the slopes of Mount
06:55Everest.
06:56The conquering team was composed of 20 Americans, aided by Sherpa tribesmen who acted as carriers.
07:04Though the term Sherpa is informally used as a catch-all for Everest guides, the Sherpa
07:09people have been closely involved in mountaineering here since the very first Everest expeditions.
07:16Their tissues use oxygen more efficiently and preserve muscle energy better than people
07:21from lowlands.
07:24That's one of the reasons Sherpa guides can assist their climbers with heavy loads without
07:28risking as much physical strain.
07:31I've got a very good Sherpa, you know, and he carries a lot.
07:37So about 10 kg I would carry, but they would carry three times that.
07:47And it's indispensable, especially here at the Khumbu Icefall, where three Sherpas lost
07:53their lives in 2023.
08:02At an elevation of 5,486 metres, the team slowly makes its way through shifting glaciers.
08:18The group is also relying on the work that locals known as icefall doctors did months
08:45earlier.
08:47These specialised climbers establish the safest route to the top of Everest every season.
08:54A separate fee of $600 per expedition member goes to these icefall doctors to use the ladders
09:00and ropes they set up.
09:09But even with a clear path, climbers are still in danger of crevasses opening and closing
09:16and even unexpected avalanches.
09:18For
09:43each of these climbs, guides certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides
09:48Associations can charge agencies $10,000.
09:53Less experienced climbing guides make only $4,000 per climb.
09:59The agency Furwa Wangchu works with, Makalu Adventure, says it pays guides an additional
10:04$1,500 for every successful summit.
10:09It charges about $30,000 to climb Everest, but some foreign agencies charge over double
10:16that amount.
10:27Guy Cotter is the CEO of Adventure Consultants.
10:31Guy acted as a mountain guide on the New Zealand company's pioneering commercial expedition
10:36up Everest in 1992.
10:39He took over the business after his friend Rob Hall died on the mountain in 1996.
10:47Included in the cost of coming on one of our expeditions to Everest is that we have internationally
10:53qualified mountain guides, guides who have a huge amount of experience as mountain guides
10:59and in the Himalayas.
11:00We also have a high flow oxygen rate of four litres a minute, the maximum we can get out
11:06of the regulators that we're using.
11:08We include a doctor on the expedition, base camp cooks for the Sherpas.
11:13We have base camp cooks for the climbing team.
11:17We have cooks at camp two that are based there for the season as well.
11:22We also provide a base camp manager.
11:26Every expedition member gets their own base camp tent, a walk-in tent with a cot bed,
11:32really nice and comfortable.
11:34We believe in a good level of support, really good food.
11:41No matter the price point, all expeditions must dedicate a chunk of their budget to hiring
11:46porters like Santosh Tamang.
11:54Porters carry supplies up and down the mountain on foot, the only choice in this remote and
11:59rugged terrain.
12:03Though most porters rely solely on their own strength, some, like Santosh, invest in yaks
12:09and donkeys to carry more loads and make more money.
12:14Today, he's bringing kerosene and petrol to base camp.
12:37He says he's been able to charge a higher rate after the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing
13:00from about $12 to a little over $15 per day.
13:05For larger loads, he can make almost $380 a trip.
13:10But Santosh says he doesn't see much of his earnings.
13:30Santosh made a significant investment in yaks.
13:34They can cost over $450 each, and he has five.
13:39That's almost $2,300 worth of cattle.
13:42And his expenses don't end there.
13:45Half of his earnings go to feeding his yaks grass and potatoes.
13:51Each feeding costs him $70.
13:54With the money he pockets, Santosh can only just get by.
14:04Climbers also have to pay for independent tracking guides, like Prabin Gulung.
14:10Prabin leads climbers from the airport in Lukla to Everest base camp.
14:27Even at lower elevations, conditions on Everest aren't easy.
14:49Prabin must help trekkers reach base camp safely, even as they suffer effects from the
14:54challenging weather, terrain, altitude, or their own physical limitations.
15:24For these services, Prabin gets paid up to $15 a day, adding up to almost $210 for a
15:48two-week round trip.
15:50If he's lucky, he gets tips and is able to book multiple treks in one season.
15:56But Prabin says his own income isn't guaranteed.
16:01Being an independent guide means he can only work when he's contacted directly by agencies
16:06or climbers.
16:07He makes the most money when trekkers hire him directly, as they won't have to pay any
16:12logistical fees associated with travel agencies.
16:16Prabin isn't booked consistently, which strains him financially and deters him from
16:21committing to becoming a climbing guide.
16:42Ever since the British Colonial Survey of India identified Everest as the world's
16:47highest peak in 1852, it's held a place of fascination in the global imagination.
16:54Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary's historic first ascent in 1953 catapulted its fame to
17:00new heights.
17:02For decades afterward, attempts at Everest's summit were limited to scientific surveys
17:08and experienced mountaineers.
17:11Even in the 1970s and 80s, only about 10 expeditions a year tackled Everest from the Nepalese side.
17:19But in the 1990s, the mountain rapidly commodified.
17:23In 1992, adventure consultants led the first commercial expedition up the mountain.
17:30In 1996, the company's co-founder, Rob Hall, led a doomed commercial expedition up Everest
17:36in which he and seven other people died.
17:40An incident immortalized in John Krakauer's 1997 book, Into Thin Air, and a 2015 Hollywood
17:47film.
17:49Rather than dissuading foreign visitors, this incident and others like it only added to
17:54the mountain's mythos.
17:57By the early 2000s, the number of climbers had jumped from dozens a year to hundreds.
18:03In 2023, a record 478 permits were issued.
18:11Everest's explosion in popularity has brought more money than ever into the local economy.
18:17But some of those who work on the mountain say it's not nearly enough to offset the risks
18:21involved.
18:24The majority of summits occur in the spring season, so most guides are hired for only
18:28one expedition, limiting their yearly income.
18:34Gurbar Wangchur says guides don't see enough money to justify continuously risking their lives.
18:41We don't have enough money to cover the cost of climbing the mountain.
18:45We don't have enough money to cover the cost of climbing the mountain.
18:49We have to pay for our family's expenses, our children's education.
18:53We don't have enough money to cover the cost of climbing the mountain.
18:56The doctors have already written off our expenses.
18:58It's very difficult.
19:02Guides also have to pay for their own gear, an investment of as much as $7,000.
19:09That includes clothing, boots and backpacks that must withstand extreme conditions on the mountain.
19:16The downsuit alone can cost $2,000, and some gear needs to be replaced every few years.
19:24Oftentimes, working as a guide in the increasingly commercialized Everest industry comes out of necessity.
19:39We don't have a good education.
19:42We don't have a good education.
19:45We don't have a good education.
19:51We need money to cover the cost of climbing the mountain.
19:55We need money to cover the cost of climbing the mountain.
20:02To stay afloat, Gurbar Wangchur takes on other work.
20:06I work as a butcher in the village.
20:13This is common for many local guides who struggle to make ends meet from a job that routinely puts their life in danger.
20:20That's one of the reasons Dawa Geljinsirpa quit his career as a climbing guide.
20:51Like Dawa Geljinsirpa, Gurbar Wangchur openly questions whether the risks are really worth it.
20:57And he thinks it's a question more Sherpa guides will ask.
21:10If Gurbar Wangchur is right, a decline in the number of Sherpa guides is a sign of a decline in the number of Sherpa guides.
21:18If Gurbar Wangchur is right, a declining number of expert mountain guides will coincide with the growing Everest tourism industry.
21:27But as the industry grows, so too does the frequency of fatalities.
21:33Spring 2023 saw 18 deaths, 15 confirmed and 3 presumed, making it the deadliest season for climbers on Everest.
21:43Six of those lost were Sherpa guides.
21:47At the same time, Nepal is seeing a growing job market, with locals increasingly choosing other professions.
22:17If you climb Everest, you will not be a Sherpa.
22:21Because everyone knows how to climb Everest.
22:25If you are well-educated, you will be able to climb Everest.
22:32You have to love your life. Money is everything.
22:39For those who pay to climb the mountain each year, the high price is fair.
22:45I think it's okay for what it is. It's okay and the Nepalese government have to make money from it.
22:53The Sherpas have to make money and it would be an insult, I think, if we would just come and pay hardly anything and summit the mountain.
23:03But despite the challenges Everest's workers like Furbo Wangchu face to make ends meet,
23:08the scale of the climbing and trekking industry means the economic fate of the region is inseparable from tourism.
23:17Mingma Noorbu Sherpa is the CEO of the Himalayan Trust,
23:21an NGO in Kathmandu focused on development in the Solukhambu region where Mount Everest is located.
23:29He says ensuring that the money generated by tourists stays in the local economy is key to the region's survival.
23:37In the old days, most of the money remains in Kathmandu with the travel and tour operators.
23:42And then little money goes to the community level where the poor people are living.
23:48People at the grassroots level, at the community level, they need that trekking, mountaineering and tourism.
23:55The Nepalese government also recognises the need to keep the money Everest generates from leaving Nepal.
24:02In 2025, it plans to increase the price of climbing permits for foreigners to $15,000, up from $11,000.
24:12The government says the salaries of high-altitude guides will also increase.
24:16But Mingma Noorbu says the climbing industry is intertwined with the local economy in less direct ways too.
24:47The most visible examples of this relationship are teahouses.
25:06Teahouses are lodges that serve as basic accommodations on trekking routes around Everest.
25:12But supplying these teahouses, whether by back or by yak, is a logistical nightmare.
25:21And if supplies do manage to arrive, they're expensive.
25:25One sack of rice costs $60, a gallon of gas $113.
25:31But premium prices don't always mean premium service.
25:35Accommodations for climbers look different from the more basic lodging for porters.
25:41And for the locals who own these teahouses, keeping a business afloat on top of the world is no easy feat.
25:50Up here, a single cup of milk tea costs nearly 10 times what it does in the valleys of Nepal.
25:58One of the main reasons is the amount of effort it takes to get supplies up the mountain.
26:04That responsibility falls to porters.
26:11At 18 years old, Shashant is one of the youngest porters in his trekking party.
26:20Today, there are around 20 kilometers between him and his destination, a teahouse in Dingboche.
26:42They carry supplies over 100 kilometers and up 5,300 meters of elevation to base camp.
26:50Under Nepalese law, trekking porters are supposed to carry no more than 30 kilos.
26:57But this is often ignored.
27:00And some commercial porters, paid by the load, carry more than their own weight.
27:05Further along the path to the teahouse, a helicopter lands to conduct a rescue operation.
27:11A stark reminder of how dangerous this job is.
27:15But the dangerous conditions haven't deterred the traffic.
27:19Even at these high elevations, climbers, guides and other people are still on the move.
27:26But the dangerous conditions haven't deterred the traffic.
27:30Even at these high elevations, climbers, guides and yaks flow through the narrow trails.
27:41After seven hours of hiking, Shashant finally arrives at a porterhouse.
27:48This is Dingboche, about 4,400 meters above sea level.
27:54Typically, porters aren't required to pay for lodging, only the food they eat.
28:16Climbers and guides stay separate from porters at more spacious lodges.
28:21These lodges offer more amenities, but are often too expensive for porters.
28:27Shashant makes about $11 to $12 a day.
28:31He says he spends half and saves the rest.
28:35Shashant hopes to one day become a trekking guide and eventually a mountain guide.
28:41But for now, he's enjoying a comfortable place to sleep and a hot meal.
28:52I've been staying here with the porter for a while,
28:57and the guests are being kept in a hotel rest area.
29:02It's great fun to hang out with friends here.
29:06This is what I'd like to see.
29:13Travellers rest at Dingboche for two days to acclimate to the high elevation.
29:18for two days to acclimate to the high elevation.
29:22But Shashant can't relax for long.
29:25After a day of rest, it's time to pack up
29:28and get back on the trail.
29:41It's a snowy April day in Ferreche.
29:44This is a popular stop for climbers descending from base camp
29:48but this storm could last days and the visibility is low.
29:53A foreboding sign for anyone on their way down the mountain.
29:57But inside, Shiva Bhadur Basnath already has a fire going.
30:03He burns dried yak dung instead of wood
30:06because it's cheaper and widely available.
30:09During the busy season,
30:1020 to 50 people cram in here each night.
30:18The firewood is ready.
30:20The toilet is also ready.
30:22The toilet is here.
30:27There's a drum to collect water.
30:30This is the solar panel to heat the water.
30:35Shiva has run this teahouse for seven years.
30:38It's a frequent stop for porters returning from Everest base camp.
30:43The solar panels are very convenient.
30:46We can charge our phones and watch TV with the solar panels.
30:51We can charge our phones and watch TV with the solar panels.
30:5515 people can sleep on the ground here
30:58and another 18 can sleep on the ground there.
31:00It's getting dark and it's a sunny place.
31:04When I come in, I can see the porters.
31:09They are comfortable.
31:15Further up the mountain, there are limited accommodations for porters.
31:19If they don't have a place to stay,
31:21many hike down to Ferreche after delivering the climbers' luggage.
31:26Porters wake up early and hike about 2.5km back up
31:30to meet trekking guides before the expedition sets off.
31:34So at times, Shiva must have breakfast ready at 3am.
31:40But tonight, the porters have a chance to rest,
31:43so Shiva is preparing a leisurely dinner for his guests.
31:47When flour costs $60 a sack, the options are limited.
31:52But Shiva makes the most out of what he has.
31:56On tonight's menu, noodles, stew and dindor,
32:01a thick flour porridge that's a staple food in this part of Nepal.
32:07We have come to this place to feed the porters.
32:13The rice is not only delicious,
32:16but also the dindor is delicious.
32:20The porridge is not cold.
32:23We also have milk teas and black coffees.
32:30Tea houses like this look different
32:34than the more modern accommodations available to climbers,
32:37some of whom are paying tens of thousands of dollars to summit Everest.
32:42Those lodges offer more space and better amenities,
32:45like separate rooms and showers.
32:48Depending on the location, climbers often pay less than $10 per night,
32:52up to about $60 if you include food and electricity.
32:59In tourism, we don't allow people to live in the lodges.
33:04We don't allow people to live in the lodges,
33:07so we keep the lodges open.
33:10The porters don't know where to go.
33:13That's why we keep the lodges open.
33:16We keep the lodges open so that the porters can find a place to stay.
33:22Lodges prioritize the foreign climbers,
33:25and while porters aren't explicitly banned,
33:28it's customary for them to stay elsewhere.
33:40But running a hotel at this altitude is hard work.
33:45Every drop of fuel, every piece of gear,
33:48and every morsel of food he needs to keep the place running
33:51must be carried up one step at a time.
33:56Consequently, Shiva's operating costs are astronomical.
34:14And Shiva has to pass these prices on to his guests.
34:18The dindor Bajrang is eating cost him 600 rupees,
34:22about double what it costs elsewhere in the country.
34:26But Shiva can't push prices too high.
34:29Despite the remote area, there is some competition,
34:33so Shiva works hard to ensure this is a comfortable place to stay.
34:41Additionally, local waste removal incentives
34:44provide Shiva with the opportunity to earn a little extra money.
34:52We've built a teahouse here.
34:55We've removed the glass, the cans, the teapots, the silts.
35:01We've removed the glass.
35:03There's only one stove to light the fire.
35:06That's why I'm doing this.
35:11Even with the high cost of doing business,
35:14running a teahouse still provides Shiva
35:16with more than he's able to earn in his village.
35:19He works here for six months to support his family
35:22and to send his kids to school.
35:24During the off-season, he returns home to farm potatoes and maize.
35:50But beyond the financial pressures,
35:53Shiva's livelihood provides an essential service
35:56to porters travelling on the mountain.
36:20We don't stay in places like this.
36:23We go out to eat when the weather is nice.
36:28We don't have enough food.
36:33We can't call them porters.
36:36We can't call them porters.
36:39But they are here.
36:41That's why they come to us.
36:49For Shiva, the hard work is worth it
36:52for the warmth and community the teahouse provides.
36:55The atmosphere of the shared dormitory and small dining room
36:59is more like a home than a hotel.
37:04Despite the limited amenities,
37:06Sushant says he enjoys the camaraderie teahouses provide.
37:10I miss my family.
37:14When the trek is over, I will return home.
37:28After reaching base camp and more than a week of hiking,
37:31Sushant heads back down the trail
37:33towards the narrow airstrip at Lukla.
37:39From here, the climbers fly back to Kathmandu,
37:42ending their journey.
37:49But for many porters, the season is still going.
37:53They turn around, tie up their bags,
37:56and start the trek again.
38:07The impact of the tourist economy on the Everest region
38:10goes far beyond dollars and cents.
38:13In recent years, images of overcrowding
38:16and piles of trash on the mountain's peak
38:19have provoked public outrage.
38:22Local residents are acutely aware
38:24of the environmental challenges facing their communities.
38:27An estimated 50 metric tons of waste
38:30still litter the slopes of the mountain,
38:33and increasing snowmelt has uncovered trash
38:36that has been buried under ice for decades.
38:39That's why locals, NGOs, and the Nepali government
38:43have banded together to coordinate
38:45a massive cleanup effort in the region.
38:51Waste efforts are carefully organized
38:53by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, or SPCC,
38:57a Sherpa-led non-governmental organization.
39:01Climbing guides carry down waste from higher camps
39:04and combine it with trash at base camp.
39:07This includes plastic, food scraps, and human waste.
39:38As of 2023, 2,306 expedition groups
39:42had attempted or summited the mountain,
39:45and each group generates a lot of trash.
39:49This is a huge amount of trash.
39:52It's a huge amount of trash.
39:55It's a huge amount of trash.
39:58It's a huge amount of trash.
40:01It's a huge amount of trash.
40:04It's a huge amount of trash.
40:06An average of 8 kilograms per person.
40:10At base camp, Suraj sorts the waste
40:13into burnable and non-burnable piles
40:15and bundles them for porters.
40:17The porters then carry the trash on their backs
40:20or via yaks down the mountain
40:22to designated collection sites.
40:27At landfills managed by the SPCC,
40:30workers like Girish Rai sort and pack the trash.
40:37Normally, other SPCC workers
40:40sort and pack the trash here.
40:43Normally, other SPCC workers
40:46sort and pack the trash here.
40:49We take the trash back here
40:52and pack it again.
41:07This is where we keep the bottles.
41:10This is where we refill the bottles.
41:13When do we drink this?
41:15Tomorrow.
41:18Some of the bags Kirilash is packing
41:21are part of the Carry Me Back program,
41:24a crowdsourced waste transportation system.
41:27The program is managed by Sagarmatha Next,
41:30an organization seeking to demonstrate
41:33to process all this waste.
41:36To remove it, that's a challenge
41:39because we don't have roads and transportation vehicles.
41:42So we made something we called Carry Me Back.
41:45It's a small bag, weighs up to one kilo,
41:48and we offer everyone who returns back from higher up,
41:52going back to the entry point Lukla,
41:55to take one bag, one kilo,
41:57and carry it one day down.
42:01Lukla is the site of Everest's airport
42:04and the gateway to the region.
42:07From here, the sorted waste is flown back to Kathmandu,
42:10where it's processed further at recycling centers.
42:14Sagarmatha Next first trialed Carry Me Back in 2019.
42:19During five weeks, we had 2,500 participants,
42:23and they carried back 5,500 bags,
42:26so around five tons, in a test situation.
42:30And that was very, very kind of encouraging.
42:33In 2023, Carry Me Back scaled it up to eight metric tons.
42:38But the organization's efforts don't stop there.
42:42It also repurposes the trash it helps to collect.
42:46One way it does this is through its partnership with Moware.
42:51Moware sources recycled bottle caps
42:54collected from Everest and nearby mountains,
43:01upcycling waste into souvenirs like these.
43:07The molds are inspired by the topography of the Himalayas.
43:14Sagarmatha Next's Experience Center
43:17also hosts an Artist in Residence program,
43:21where artists like Jo Rankine repurpose discarded trash.
43:26The pieces that I've chosen come from a big waste pit
43:29that's below the Namche telepad.
43:31So I've taken my backpack down and collected all the pieces
43:34that I want to work with,
43:36and I've brought them back up here to the lab.
43:40And now I'm working on a sculpture,
43:42which I'm going to place onto this metal grid down here.
43:45And this is a real challenge because the metal is so corroded,
43:49so every time I've tried to make a hole, it breaks a little bit.
43:57While Sagarmatha Next was established
44:00to alleviate the waste problem on Everest and in the Khumbu region,
44:04its founders bear no animosity toward the climbers responsible.
44:08Well, I think we all have to try to understand as much as possible
44:14what it means to be up climbing on a mountain like Everest.
44:18Most people going up on that mountain are actually struggling pretty hard,
44:24both to be safe and to be able to scale and go to the summit,
44:30and then, of course, most importantly, to be able to come back down safely.
44:35The nature of it itself makes it almost impossible to have,
44:41let's say, 100% of all the waste that is up there to be brought down.
44:47So hopefully we also get that message out in the world
44:51that there are many efforts to try to alleviate the problems.
44:58The SPCC's waste management system is required for expedition agencies and locals alike,
45:04but it comes at a cost.
45:07It mandates fees based on the amount of waste generated by each expedition.
45:18Other types of waste also come in small amounts,
45:22such as police documents, glass containers,
45:26and then small amounts of garbage.
45:34Climbers are also subject to fees and regulations imposed by the Nepalese government.
45:39It requires climbers to pay a $4,000 deposit,
45:43which will only be returned if they bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
45:48not including oxygen tanks or human waste.
45:52This regulation is meant to incentivize climbers
45:55to help clean the decade's worth of trash on the highest parts of the mountain.
46:00The fine can be inconvenient for climbers and their guides,
46:04like Phurba Wangchu Sherpa, who struggle to meet the requirement.
46:13If we don't bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
46:17we won't be able to bring down at least 16 kilograms of garbage.
46:21If we don't bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
46:25we won't be able to bring down at least 16 kilograms of garbage.
46:29If we don't bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
46:33we won't be able to bring down at least 16 kilograms of garbage.
46:37If we don't bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
46:41we won't be able to bring down at least 16 kilograms of garbage.
46:45If we bring down at least 8 kilograms of trash,
46:49we won't be able to bring down at least 16 kilograms of garbage.
46:53We can't even get rid of the toxic waste from our recycling bins.
46:59While oxygen cylinders don't count towards the 8 kilograms of waste required per climber,
47:05they're too expensive to leave behind.
47:08Each cylinder costs $600, and that price has incentivised climbers to return them instead
47:15of leaving them on the mountain.
47:38In 2019, the Nepalese government enlisted the National Army to assist in cleaning up
48:07Mount Everest and other heavily-trafficked mountains.
48:11The annual programme, the Mountain Cleanup Campaign, costs the government $7.5 million.
48:19In 2023, the Army, in conjunction with Sherpa guides, collected about 36 metric tonnes of
48:26waste.
48:29Despite recent cleanup efforts, Everest's climate is still under threat.
48:34A 2022 study found that in about 25 years, Everest's highest glacier lost 2,000 years
48:42worth of ice.
48:44The receding ice revealed decades worth of trash, but also some of the hundreds of bodies
48:49on the mountain.
48:52Removing a single dead body can cost as much as $70,000, and even occasionally the lives
48:58of the climbers tasked with recovering them.
49:02But the impact of pollution on Everest isn't limited to the mountain.
49:08About 2 billion people live around and downstream of the Himalayan mountains, in Nepal, China,
49:14India, and other regions in South and East Asia.
49:19A study of snow and stream water extracted from Everest in 2019 found concentrations
49:25of microplastics, predominantly polyester fibres.
49:29Toxic heavy metals, pathogens, and PFAS, known as forever chemicals, have also been detected
49:36in Everest's snow and water.
49:39Concerns over the polluted water supply have led locals to consider changing their water
49:44sources.
49:55And for those who earn a living from Everest tourism and mountaineering, alleviating the
50:14problem is an existential issue.
50:55But even with improved environmental management and increased economic opportunity in the
51:12region, the truth is that the future of Everest is unclear.
51:18In 2024, Nepal issued fewer climbing permits for Everest than it did in 2023.
51:25And recently, more climbers have opted to tackle the peak from the Chinese side of the
51:30mountain, putting pressure on Nepal's Everest industry.
51:35Still, some of those who make their living here, like Shashant, see a future guiding
51:41tourists up the mountain.
51:55Unlike Furwawang Chu, Shashant is able to pursue his education.
52:15Still, the mountain compels him.
52:40But not everyone shares Shashant's optimism.
52:44Others, like Furwawang Chu, dream of a future for their children beyond the mountain slopes.