Record-breaking Everest Sherpa guide hits out at piles of garbage left on mountain

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Louise Thomas

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One of the greatest Mount Everest guides has hit out at the peak's growing piles of rubbish, as he was honoured by his government to mark Everest Day.

Sherpa guide Kami Rita, who has climbed Mount Everest a record 30 times, was honoured by Nepal's prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Kathmandu on the anniversary of the first successful scaling of the summit, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Rita said he was deeply worried by the accumulation of garbage that's been surfacing as ice and snow melt from the peak.

“It is very necessary to immediately direct our attention to this,” he said, adding that Everest Day should really be celebrated by government funding campaigns to clean up the camps near the summit.

There have been cleanup campaigns on the mountain almost every year. A team of Nepali soldiers is currently on the mountain picking up trash left behind by expeditions.

“At the moment, not enough garbage has been taken out from Camp 3 or 4,” Rita said. “There had been cleanup campaigns but all of that has been for either Camp 2 or below.”

Rita also said Sherpa guides working on the mountain should have better conditions and benefits.

“There needs to be an increased amount of insurance up to Rs6m (£35,000) and there should be a provident fund,” he said.

The 54-year-old guide has scaled the 8,849m peak twice this month, breaking his own record for the most successful climbs.

His closest competitor is fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa, who has 27 successful ascents.

Rita first climbed Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success each year of foreign climbers aspiring to stand on top of the world.

His father was among the first Sherpa mountain guides. In addition to his Everest climbs, Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Several climbers and people in the community were honoured alongside Rita.