Kathmandu - A Nepalese mountaineer, who shattered his own
record with his 19th successful scaling of Mount Everest, Monday
expressed
concern over trash and the impact of global warming on the mountain.
Appa Sherpa, 48, who reached the 8,848-metre summit earlier this
week, called the impacts alarming.
'We have only one Everest, we need to clean and protect it,' Appa
said upon his arrival in Kathmandu Monday morning. 'I am willing to
climb Everest again next year to raise awareness.'
Appa was part of Eco Everest Expedition 2009 which aimed to
highlight problems of global warming and collect trash littered on
the mountain.
The expedition said it retrieved as much as 5 tons of trash,
including parts of a helicopter that crashed on the mountain in 1973.
'The warming temperature is increasing the volume of glacial lakes
resulting in the shrinking of glaciers,' Appa said. 'As for trash,
there is still more on the mountain and we need to clean it.'
When Appa reached the summit earlier this week, he placed a banner
reading, 'Stop Climate Change - Let the Himalayas live.'
More than 150 climbers have reached the summit of Everest this
year alone.
With the increase in the number of expeditions, Nepal's government
has tightened regulations for climbers, requiring them to bring back
all equipment they use.
In the past, expeditions left behind oxygen bottles, tents and
ropes.
Sir Edmund Hillary, from New Zealand, and Tenzing Norgay, from
Nepal were the first people to reach the summit of Everest on May 29,
1959.
Since then 2,800 individuals have reached the summit and 213 have
died trying.
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