Everest and the visible bill of extreme tourism
Frederic Kauffmann
6/3/20262 min read
Do we really need to get anywhere and in any way just because technically we can do it?
That is the uncomfortable question that appears when you see the video of Camp IV of Everest, at almost 8,000 meters of altitude, full of abandoned tents, oxygen bottles, remains of material and traces of an adventure that, for many, ends in a summit photo. For others, however, it starts later: when the garbage remains, the risk, the ice that preserves everything and the almost absurd impossibility of cleaning what has been left behind.
Because the problem is not just climbing Everest. The problem is climbing thinking that the mountain is a scenario and not an extremely fragile ecosystem. An epic set to validate a personal experience, a brand, a promise of improvement or a publication on networks.
It's not about demonizing the adventure. Nor to deny the symbolic strength of mountaineering. Climbing a great mountain can be a transformative, demanding and deeply human experience. But the question is another: when does a personal experience cease to be legitimate if its environmental, logistical and human cost is unacceptable?
In recent years, more than 4,000 liters of urine per day have been withdrawn directly into the glacier. Every season, only on Everest 60 tons of material, food, shops, kitchens, etc. are uploaded and only 8.9 tons are lowered. Yes, the difference remains at more than 5000 meters of altitude.
And here comes the real debate: responsibility.
Sustainability cannot be a nice speech before the trip and an excuse after. If an activity requires artificial oxygen, carriers, helicopters, waste difficult to remove and subsequent campaigns to repair the damage, perhaps the question should not be only how much it costs to go up in terms of materials but what is the real cost of that impact.
Paying a fee to calm the conscience is no longer enough. Compensating should mean ensuring that the impact is measured, reduced and repaired but with transparency and dramatic traceability. We must be aware of our impact, be able to measure it in order to design environmental strategies that allow us to recover environmental environments.
Perhaps the time has come to redefine what we mean by "conquering" a mountain. Perhaps conquering Everest is no longer reaching the top, but having the maturity to understand how we get ithere.
If we want to live extraordinary experiences, we will have to assume extraordinary responsibilities.
Without further ado... I'll leave it there.
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