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NDTV
5 days ago
- NDTV
Drones Clean "World's Highest Garbage Dump" At Mount Everest
Human waste, empty oxygen cylinders, kitchen leftovers and discarded ladders. Sherpas working on Mount Everest carry all that and more - 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person - navigating a four-hour hike that traverses crumbling glacial ice and treacherous crevasses to bring trash back to base camp. During the most recent climbing season, they had new assistance from two giant SZ DJI Technology Co. drones, which can complete the same journey in six minutes, sharing the task of clearing an expanding volume of refuse piling up on the world's highest peak. Drones have been deployed to haul garbage from Everest's Camp 1, which sits at 6,065 meters (19,898 feet) above sea level down to base camp, about 700 meters below. After a DJI FlyCart 30 delivers supplies like ropes and ladders up the peak, Sherpas hook on a debris-filled garbage bag for the drone's return journey as it buzzes down the mountain, sounding like an oversized mosquito. Between mid-April and mid-May, the drones operated by Nepal-based firm Airlift Technology handled more than 280 kilograms of refuse, according to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, a local non-profit that manages trash collection on Everest. The drones are part of a growing effort to clean the slopes of the mountain, which has become so trash-strewn, it's been referred to as the "world's highest garbage dump." Enlisting robots can help not only speed up the process but also reduce the danger for the Sherpas carrying decades-worth of garbage down the treacherous peak. "We're very happy," said Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, a 33-year-old Sherpa at local expeditions firm Asian Trekking who has reached the summit of Everest 15 times. He estimates that about 70% of the garbage usually carted off the mountain by his team was transported by drone this year. "When you're coming down from Camp 1 and it's warm, you can smell the garbage," and that has caused respiratory problems for some Sherpas, he said. "We want more drones carrying heavier weights." The 8,849-meter Everest has seen an influx of trash since the 1990s, when visiting grew in popularity following multiple successful summit attempts. During climbing season, which typically lasts from late April until the end of May, tens of thousands of people trek to base camp, though only hundreds attempt to reach the top of the peak each year. Everest's garbage problem is worst at higher altitude campsites, which are also more challenging to clean given the logistical hurdles of reaching them. Since 2019, the Nepalese army and Sherpas have worked together to remove more than 100 tons of waste from the mountain and several surrounding peaks. In the last decade, the government has also implemented rules requiring climbers who venture above base camp to carry back at least 8 kilograms of trash each or risk forfeiting a $4,000 deposit that those visiting the mountain must pay. Climate change is only adding to the urgency to clean Everest. Snow and ice are melting, exposing decades-old garbage that can contaminate waterways fed by the runoff and that flow down to villages below. To combat the risks of human waste spreading diseases such as cholera, local officials last year put in place regulations compelling climbers to keep it in doggy bags to be brought back to base camp. At the same time, rising temperatures are making trash collection more dangerous. Ice is weakening, crevasses are widening and meltwater within the Khumbu Glacier - situated between base camp and Camp 1 - is causing ice blocks to collapse more quickly. At lower altitudes, the Khumbu Icefall at the head of the glacier "is by far the most dangerous part of the mountain, and towards the end of the season, it starts to melt," said Tenzing David Sherpa, a director at Asian Trekking, which employs about 30 Sherpas. "It is much safer for drones to bring down the waste." The Chinese drones, which cost $70,000 each, can fly in temperatures of minus-20C and brave wind speeds of more than 40 kmh. Asian Trekking said it would pay for Airlift's equipment and trash delivery services if the drone company decides to officially offer them commercially. Even so, there are limitations. Drones aren't able to reach higher campsites, where the air is too thin to fly. Weather at high altitude can also be erratic, and during a flight in April, a drone automatically deployed a parachute when wind speeds hit more than 60 kmh. The machine was then dragged and damaged by further gusts. The accident highlighted the need for specialized insurance before expanding the project, according to Tshering Sherpa, SPCC's chief executive officer. Such policies are not currently readily available and "if we don't have any insurance, it is a very high-risk project," he said. Airlift, which is working with Nepalese authorities, is planning to try more drone models on Everest and the country's other 8,000-meter peaks, said co-founder Milan Pandey. At least five drone manufacturers from the US and Europe have already reached out to Airlift offering their equipment for testing, Pandey said. At these altitudes, "we're the only company in the world doing this operation." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- Boston Globe
Drones will do some schlepping for Sherpas on Mount Everest
'Sherpas bear enormous risks. The drone makes their task safer, faster, and more efficient,' said Tshering Sherpa, whose organization, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, is responsible for fixing the route through the deadly Khumbu Icefall, southwest of Everest's summit. For about a year, operators have been experimenting with two drones donated by their Chinese maker. The pilot test during this year's Everest climbing season is seen as an important opportunity to persuade expedition agencies to invest in more of the devices, which could be used to carry climbing gear and essential items like oxygen cylinders. Advertisement While the upfront cost of the drones may be high, their proponents say they will eventually reduce agencies' costs. Among those who could benefit most are the experienced Sherpas known as 'icefall doctors.' Before every climbing season, they assemble at the Everest base camp for the daunting mission of establishing a route through the shifting ice. They carry heavy loads of ladders, fix them over crevasses, and lay rope to climb up the ice wall. Once the ladders and ropes are set along the Khumbu Icefall to Camp II, other Sherpas ferry oxygen bottles, medicine, and various essentials to high camps. Sherpas make this dangerous climb at least 40 times a season, according to expedition organizers. When the icefall doctors made their way to the base camp early this month, they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the drone pilots, who were still in Kathmandu, the Nepali capital, finishing flight clearance documentation. Advertisement 'They are calling us to team up early,' said Milan Pandey, a drone pilot affiliated with AirLift, a startup drone company in Nepal. The catalyst for the use of drones was the latest of the many deadly tragedies involving Sherpas on Everest. In 2023, three of the mountain guides were buried under an avalanche as they fixed rope for foreign climbers. Their bodies could not be retrieved. Doing so could have damaged the ice block and endangered those trying to get the remains, said Mingma G. Sherpa, the managing director of Imagine Nepal, which led the expedition in which the Sherpas died. His search for ways to improve safety drew him to Chinese expedition companies that were using drones on Muztagh Ata, a 24,757-foot peak in China near Pakistan's border. The Chinese were using the vehicles to ferry climbing gear, food, and other crucial items to Camp II and bring them down. 'The Chinese cooked food at base camp and sent it to Camp II of Muztagh Ata, where climbers could eat hot food,' Sherpa said. 'I thought, why not use drones on Everest's south side, especially the Khumbu Icefall section?' At his invitation, a team from Chinese drone maker DJI went to Nepal in spring 2024 to test two FlyCart 30 delivery drones. The DJI team donated the drones to AirLift, the Nepalese startup. Since then, AirLift has been testing the limits of the drones in the most dangerous sections of Everest. The drones' proponents hope that they can do more than carry items. Since the shape of icefall keeps changing, icefall doctors struggle to locate the previous climbing route, which complicates setting the new route each season. Drone operators believe they will be able to pinpoint old routes using geolocation. Advertisement The devices could also help make up for the declining numbers of Sherpas. More are leaving because of the safety risks and better employment opportunities abroad. But even with all the drones can offer, their price tag has given some expedition companies pause. Once customs duties, batteries, a winch system, and other parts are factored in, a DJI drone can cost more than $70,000, a huge sum in a poor country like Nepal. Startups like AirLift are exploring options to assemble the drones inside Nepal, which they say could reduce their cost by more than half. The miracle of a warm meal may ride on that cost-cutting effort. During a trial run last year on Mount Ama Dablam, a Himalayan peak where drones were used to remove 1,300 pounds of waste, Dawa Jangbu Sherpa, a drone pilot, saw the potential of the vehicle firsthand. Food sent from base camp was still hot when it reached Camp I. 'It takes six hours if you follow the normal route to reach Camp I,' Sherpa said. 'But the drone served food in six minutes.' This article originally appeared in
New York Times
18-03-2025
- New York Times
Drones Will Do Some Schlepping for Sherpas on Mount Everest
Help may at last be on the way for the Nepali Sherpas who carry heavy loads for foreign climbers through treacherous sections of the world's tallest peak. When the main climbing season begins next month on Mount Everest, expedition companies will test drones that can ferry loads as heavy as 35 pounds in the high altitudes, bring back ladders used to set the climbing routes, and remove waste that is typically left behind. Goods that would normally take seven hours to be transported by foot from Everest's base camp to Camp I can be airlifted within 15 minutes. By lightening the Sherpas' burdens, drone operators hope that the chances of fatal accidents — which have risen as climate change has accelerated snowmelt — can now be reduced. 'Sherpas bear enormous risks. The drone makes their task safer, faster and more efficient,' said Tshering Sherpa, whose organization, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, is responsible for fixing the route through the deadly Khumbu Icefall, southwest of Everest's summit. For about a year, operators have been experimenting with two drones donated by their Chinese maker. The pilot test during this year's Everest climbing season is seen as an important opportunity to persuade expedition agencies to invest in more of the devices, which could be used to carry climbing gear and essential items like oxygen cylinders. While the upfront cost of the drones may be high, their proponents say they will eventually reduce agencies' costs. Among those who could benefit most are the experienced Sherpas known as 'icefall doctors.' Before every climbing season, they assemble at the Everest base camp for the daunting mission of establishing a route through the shifting ice. They carry heavy loads of ladders, fix them over crevasses and lay rope to climb up the ice wall. Once the ladders and ropes are set along the Khumbu Icefall to Camp II, other Sherpas ferry oxygen bottles, medicine and various essentials to high camps. Sherpas make this dangerous climb at least 40 times a season, according to expedition organizers. When the icefall doctors made their way to the base camp early this month, they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the drone pilots, who were still in Kathmandu, the Nepali capital, finishing flight clearance documentation. 'They are calling us to team up early,' said Milan Pandey, a drone pilot affiliated with AirLift, a startup drone company in Nepal. The catalyst for the use of drones was the latest of the many deadly tragedies involving Sherpas on Everest. In 2023, three of the mountain guides were buried under an avalanche as they fixed rope for foreign climbers. Their bodies could not be retrieved. Doing so could have damaged the ice block and endangered those trying to get the remains, said Mingma G. Sherpa, the managing director of Imagine Nepal, which led the expedition in which the Sherpas died. His search for ways to improve safety drew him to Chinese expedition companies that were using drones on Muztagh Ata, a 24,757-foot peak in China near Pakistan's border. The Chinese were using the vehicles to ferry climbing gear, food and other crucial items to Camp II and bring them down. 'The Chinese cooked food at base camp and sent it to Camp II of Muztagh Ata, where climbers could eat hot food,' Mr. Sherpa said. 'I thought, why not use drones on Everest's south side, especially the Khumbu Icefall section?' At his invitation, a team from the Chinese drone maker DJI went to Nepal in the spring of 2024 to test two FlyCart 30 delivery drones. The DJI team donated the drones to AirLift, the Nepalese startup. Since then, AirLift has been testing the limits of the drones in the most dangerous sections of Everest. The drones' proponents hope that they can do more than carry items. Since the shape of icefall keeps changing, icefall doctors struggle to locate the previous climbing route, which complicates setting the new route each season. Drone operators believe they will be able to pinpoint old routes using geolocation. The devices could also help make up for the declining numbers of Sherpas. More are leaving because of the safety risks and better employment opportunities abroad. But even with all the drones can offer, their price tag has given some expedition companies pause. A DJI drone can cost more than $70,000 after customs duties, a huge sum in a poor country like Nepal. Startups like AirLift are exploring options to assemble the drones inside Nepal, which they say could reduce their cost by more than half. The miracle of a warm meal may ride on that cost-cutting effort. During a trial run last year on Mount Ama Dablam, a Himalayan peak where drones were used to remove 1,300 pounds of waste, Dawa Jangbu Sherpa, a drone pilot, saw the potential of the vehicle firsthand. Food sent from base camp was still hot when it reached Camp I. 'It takes six hours if you follow the normal route to reach Camp I,' Mr. Sherpa said. 'But the drone served food in six minutes.'
