Everest Clean Up Campaign Next Week

Twelve mountaineers, including nine Nepali Sherpas and three Japanese, will climb Mt Everest next week to clean up the north ridge of the world's tallest peak.

Ken Noguchi, a Japanese mountaineer who holds the record of climbing all seven tallest peaks of all the continents, is leading the clean-up campaign. He has led such campaigns to Everest four times earlier and collected trash from the north and the south sides.
The campaign this year will concentrate mainly on the advance base camp situated at 6400m of the north ridge, Noguchi said, adding that they expect to collect as much as one tonne of garbage including tents, ropes, oxygen cylinders and food cans.

"The highlight of this cleaning campaign is that a similar campaign will be going on simultaneously at the Japan's tallest peak Mt Fuji with over 200 participants," he said. "This will be telecast live through satellite television. I, believe this will be crucial for creating awareness among the mountaineers and common people on the adverse effects of litters and their impact on global warming in the Himalayas," Noguchi added.

In addition, two women mountaineers -- one Japanese Kei Taniguchi and Pasang Lhamu Sherpa of Solukhumbhu -- are also eyeing to put their feet on the summit of the world's tallest peak.

The same expedition also has another feature -- Pemba Dorjee Sherpa, the fastest Everest summiteer, is planning to hoist the national flags of all the countries and flags of the eight political parties atop Everest. Sherpa also plans to take photos of Lord Buddha and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala with him to the summit and pray for world peace and fraternity.