Green Options

Apa Sherpa, 49, has climbed Mount Everest a record 18 times but now he’s preparing for a 19th, this time to clean up the mess left by the thousands of climbers who have scaled the mountain since 1953.

Apa, a high-altitude guide, plans to take the Eco Everest Expedition up the mountain to clean up garbage left by previous expeditions. Climbers have noted the build-up of waste on the mountain for several years.

The story goes that in recent years, Jeff Clapp has made eco-art that helps preserve the sanctity of Mt. Everest’s natural beauty, and extends the value of a particular bit of Himalayan adventurers’ waste: oxygen canisters. Clapp has collected a number of the tanks that once littered Everest, and has crafted them into bells, bowls and ornaments.

Source: Snarf’d and Bells From Everest (Clapp’s site)