The environmental situation on the Mountain and in the Sagarmatha National Park.

We are back with a new show! Want to know about who is out there making effort to clean up the park and mountain? Want to know a little history of the cleanup operations over the years? Did you know there have been active clean up efforts going on for awhile on Mt. Everest? Want some firsthand accounts of the situation at the high camps this season? 

We were there to answer attendees’ questions and fire up some more. With our host, Thom Pollard, we explored the incredible ongoing efforts to save the environment in the Khumbu. We went hi-tech, we are going low tech—from bio gas offloading to carrying it out on your back.

Here is a quick rundown of what to expect in our video:

• Peter Hillary, discussing Mt. Everest as the world’s highest trash dump, and what to do about it
  
• Damian Benegas, of the famed Benegas Brothers, speaking from his years of experience on the mountain with a look towards the future

• Dan Mazur, Everest mountain guide and president of Everest BioGas, on creating an alternative to human waste problem by breaking waste down into methane gas and fertilizer!

• Yangji Doma Sherpa, from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, Ja fi talks about the government’s efforts and how the SPCC helps to regulate and keep track of the Expeditions behaviors . SPCC is hugely responsible for keeping the trail to Base Camp Clean.

• David Liaño, a 6-time Everest Submitter and advocate for a clean mountain, with a bit about the different approaches to a clean mountain between the North and South sides

• Tommy Gustafson, project manager for Sagarmatha Next, an amazing recycle and reuse information center in Namche Bazaar on the Carry Me Back program

• Phula Sherpa, mountain guide and member of the Nepal Government Mountain Clean Up, 2021; Super Phula describes the Nepal Army’s clean up of 2021

• Diana Yousef, founder and CEO of Change Water, an NGO helping to create solid waste solutions in difficult environments

Please check the show out and feel free to contact us. We assure you this is one of many stories we will do to help keep you informed of the situation, how it changes and who is taking care of it. And most importantly, how you can be a part of the solution.

We focus a lot on the mountain itself in this show, but the truth is there are only people in the high camps a couple of weeks in an entire year! Lower down, there are thousands of trekkers who have to take personal responsibility for keeping the trekking route clean. Here is where Sagarmatha Next and the Carry Me Back program, Let’s Clean Up Nepal, and the SPCC really come in.

We are so thankful for everyone who participated, and especially Thom Pollard, who is just a incredible person. Thom, we are in awe of your energy and commitment. We also thank our producer/engineer, Kellie Lin Knott, who tapes it all together and makes it happen.

Enjoy the program. Jam Jam!!

Here are some resources to check out for further information. Look for upcoming posts on many of these organizations and we will delve into the history of clean up projects in the Sagarmatha National Park.

Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee: Sagarmathanext.com

Mount Everest Biogas Project: mteverestbiogasproject.org

Let’s Clean Up Nepal: letscleanupnepal.org

Sagarmatha Pollution Control: Committee-spcc.org.np 

Change Water: change-water.com

Benegas Brothers: benegasbrothers.com

PeterHillary: peterhillary.com

David Liaño Gonzales: davidliano.com