Mt Everest "death zone" bodies and trash to be removed by Sherpas

USA Today reports that a team of Sherpa mountain climbers will retrieve bodies and trash from Mount Everest's "death zone."

The team of 20 Sherpas wants to bring down at least five bodies from the trail in the "death zone" - the low oxygen area between the summit (29,029 ft) and South Col (26,240). This area is "treacherous" and around 300 climbers have died there since 1953 says the team leader. They declined to identify the bodies.

The group - all whom have summited the famous mountain - will depart May 1 and set up camp at the South Col.

They also plan to bring empty sacks and fill them with 6,600 pounds of trash - old tents, discarded oxygen canisters, food wrappings, etc. - that have accumulated on the popular mountain throughout the decades.

Garbage discarded on the mountain was a major environmental problem until the Nepalese government imposed strict rules about 15 years ago requiring visitors to return all of their gear and rubbish or risk losing a deposit.

It is unclear how much trash is left on the mountain, but several clean-up expeditions have brought down tons of garbage.

Read the full story: Sherpa team plans to clean Mt Everest's 'death zone'

Photo by Suolang Luobu / AP

Climb Himalayas in Indian Kashmir

USA Today reports that foreigners are now allowed to climb the Himalayas from the India side of Kashmir because violence from insurgents has declined.

Before the start of the insurgency by separatists in 1989, hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to the region — known as the Switzerland of the east — to enjoy the glacier-fed streams flowing through the forests and grasslands or lounge on houseboats floating on Srinagar's Dal Lake.

The government in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir declared 2010 a "visit Kashmir year" following an improvement in the security situation, said [Farooq Ahmed Shah, a state tourism official].

"The decision has been taken at the highest level and nearly 100 peaks in Ladakh region are open for trekking and mountaineering," he said.

These peaks are situated at an altitude ranging from 9,840 feet (3,000 meters) to nearly 26,246 feet (8,000 meters).

Read the full story: India opens Himalayan peaks to foreigners

Photo from environmentandpeople.org

Climate change awareness atop Mt. Everest

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on the 19th successful ascent of resident Apa Sherpa to the top of Mount Everest, but this time under the agenda of climate change.

Apa Sherpa reached the top of the infamous mountain where he laid a sacred vase called a Bhumpa and unfurled a banner with the words: "Stop Climate Change, Let the Himalayas Live!"

"With the Bhumpa at the top of Mount Everest, Mother Goddess of the World, we will once again enhance her protective powers over mankind. The same powers that were diminished by man's selfish and greedy actions," said Dawa Steven Sherpa, who organized the Eco Everest Expedition and asked Apa to become a member for the past two climbing seasons.

Apa Sherpa, 49, has been a resident of Salt Lake since 2006; his hometown is the Sherpa village of Thame. He has summited Everest 19 times in the past 20 years.

Read the full story: Utahn Apa Sherpa tops Everest for 19th time