China plans major cut in number of people allowed to climb Everest
- Fewer than 300 people will be allowed to climb the world’s highest mountain from the north side as part of a major clean-up operation
China will cut the number of climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest from the north by one-third this year as part of plans for a major clean-up on the world’s highest peak, state media reported Monday.
The total number of climbers seeking to reach the summit from the north will be limited to less than 300 and the climbing season restricted to spring, China Daily reported.
The clean-up efforts will include the recovery of the bodies of climbers who died more than 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) up the mountain, they said.
Parts of Everest are in China and Nepal. Each year, about 60,000 climbers and guides visit the Chinese north side of the mountain, which China refers to by its Tibetan name, Mount Qomolangma.
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China has set up stations to sort, recycle and break down rubbish from the mountain, which includes cans, plastic bags, stove equipment, tents and oxygen tanks.
On the Nepalese side, mountaineering expedition organisers have begun sending huge refuse bags with climbers during the spring climbing season to collect waste that then can be winched by helicopters back to the base camp.
Everest claims multiple victims each year, often in the “death zone” above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet), where the air is too thin to sustain human life.
In 2017, 648 people climbed Everest, including 202 from the north side, according to the non-profit Himalayan Database.
Six people were confirmed to have died on the mountain that year, one of them on the north side.
