BEIJING — 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 cleanup on the world’s highest peak, state media reported Monday.
The total number of climbers seeking to scale the north side of the world’s highest peak — 29,035 feet, or 5.5 miles — will be limited to less than
300 and the climbing season restricted to spring, the reports said.
The cleanup efforts, they said, will include the recovery of the bodies of climbers who died at more than 26,246 feet up the mountain, or more than 4.97 miles.
Parts of Everest are in China and Nepal. Each year, about 60,000 climbers and guides visit the Chinese north side of the mountain.
China has set up stations to sort, recycle and break down garbage from the mountain, which includes cans, plastic bags, stove equipment, tents and oxygen tanks.
In 2017, 648 people reached Everest’s summit, including 202 from the north side, according to the nonprofit Himalayan Database. Six people were confirmed to have died on the mountain that year, one of them on the north side.
A Section on 01/22/2019