(File photo: IC)
China is to add an eco-friendly toilet at the camp 7,028 meters up the north slope of Mount Qomolangma during the climbing season this spring, local officials told Xinhua.
"The toilet makes it easy to collect human waste produced by the climbers as there is a barrel with rubbish bags underneath the toilet," said Pema Tinley, Deputy Secretary General of the Tibet Mountaineering Association, who added that the construction of the toilet would be undertaken by a Chinese commercial expedition company.
Similar facilities will also be installed at camps 5,200 meters, 5,800 meters and 6,500 meters up the mountain. All the toilets will be removed at the end of the climbing season.
"We have done research and discovered that when climbing above 7,500 meters, climbers produce little wastes apart from a little urine, because people tend to eat less and consume energy faster at this extreme altitude," Tinley said, pointing out there is no need for a toilet above 7,500 meters for the time being.
The spring climbing season on the north slope of Mount Qomolangma lasts from early April to late May, during which regular cleaning activities are carried out. China has vowed to follow the "Leave No Trace" principle and remove all rubbish and human waste from the mountain when the season ends.
