Mount Everest, an Eco Friendly Destination (with 3G)?

High mountain peaks are typically eco friendly destination stops: no people, no trash, no noise. Just a spectacular view of open space, a lot of quiet, and a sense that nature is ever-present and alive. However, as of last week, there's something else ever-present at the top of Mount Everest: 3G.

Last week, at the base camp of Mount Everest, a private telecom firm (Ncell) set up Nepal's first 3G services. Only 30% of the 28 million people of Nepal have telecommunication services. Nepal is South Asia's poorest country. TeliaSonera (part of Ncell) will (supposedly) expand its facilities in Nepal, and so that over 90% of the Himalayan population will have coverage next year. In the meantime, mountain climbers can enjoy video chatting from the once-remote, eco friendly destination.

Lars Nyberg, chief of TeliaSonera, says that the service isn't just for tourists: "This achievement is as mighty as the altitude as 3G high speed internet will bring faster, more affordable telecommunication services to the people living in the Khumbu Valley, trekkers, and climbers alike." Of course, it's only natural that the service is currently targeting the 30,000 tourists who go to Nepal's Himalayan region every year. Several hundred of them attempt to climb Everest.

Does this mean that Mount Everest, once a coveted eco friendly destination, is now just a tourist playground? Or, does it mean that tourism could help the local population get better telecommunication services? So far, it doesn't look so good for the world's highest mountain. According to US mountaineer and author Michael Kodas, base camp on the Chinese side of Mount Everest is wrought with prostitution and drugs.  He says theft, too, is a huge problem, due to the gap between wealthy foreign climbers and poor locals, as well as few (enforceable) laws. Sometimes, tents are looted of vital equipment, like bottled oxygen, ropes, and so forth, so that climbers have to purchase more. The commercialization of Everest has turned the area into the lawless "Wild Wild East".

In 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa climbing partner, Tenzing Norgay, were the first to top Mount Everest, the mountain was an untouched, beautiful eco friendly destination. Half a century later, it's an unrecognizable tourist mecca. Mount Everest, or Sagarm?th? (in Nepali), has a new nickname: the World's Highest Junkyard. Kodas addressed another problem in regards to the trash: hucksters who claim to be climbing to pick up trash (and even corpses), are instead earning thousands of dollars of sponsorships to take home. The trash isn't going anywhere.

According to estimates: there are approximately 120 dead bodies and 120 tons of trash on Mt. Everest. There's also overgrazing, deforestation (as a result of tourism), and climate change to worry about. It's not all bad news, though: the government of Nepal created a law in that climbers who leave non-biodegradable trash on the mountain will lose their $4,000 pre-expedition deposit. Another program pays Sherpas for the oxygen bottles they collect. China has restricted access to Mount Everest several times to clean it up. However, there hasn't been a concerted effort from either side of Mount Everest, and as a result, tourism is ruining the area.

Well, perhaps, trekkers can use the 3G to upload photos of rubbish and the other consequences of overuse, and thus inspire conscious action to restore Mount Everest as an eco friendly destination.

Photo Credit: Lance Trumbull - EverestPeaceProject.org