Social media images show world’s second highest mountain strewn with debris left by climbers

A Peruvian climber called Flor Cuenca has shared images of the world’s second highest mountain, K2 strewn with debris left by climbers.

From plastic bottles to discarded tents, the notoriously challenging 8,611-metre (28,251-feet) "savage mountain" of Pakistan can be seen littered and in a deplorable state in the images.

Highlighting that K2 was being turned into a “pigsty” by “fools who climb the mountains to satisfy their ego”, Cuenca said climbers were ascending with ever-greater supplies of food and oxygen bottles.

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''We are supposed to be mountaineers, why do we do this to the mountain? Do we not go to the mountains to litter them,'' Cuenca added.

A record number of climbers reached the mountain’s summit, which is located in the Karakoram range, on July 2 this year.

To counter the problem of littering, Nepal introduced the rule that anyone visiting Mount Everest has to pay a $4,000 deposit. In order to get the refund, they need to return with eight kilograms (18 pounds) of garbage.

Carrying the majority of equipment and food, fixing ropes, and repairing ladders, Nepali guides are considered the backbone of the climbing industry in the Himalayas.

Local committees and NGOs work together tirelessly to clean up the mess on Mount Everest. In order to turn human waste into fuel for the local communities, the Nepali government is planning to build a solar-powered system.

(With inputs from agencies)

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