Inside the mission of Everest’s first mountain rangers

Mount Everest, long a symbol of human achievement, is increasingly becoming a testament to environmental neglect, with tonnes of garbage and human waste accumulating from decades of commercial climbing. To combat this growing crisis, Nepal has launched an innovative "Mountain Ranger" program, with Ngima Wangchu Sherpa serving as the nation's first.

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At first glance, climbers see me from a distance and think I’m just another guide walking around. But most of them don’t really want to encounter me.

Stationed at Camp II, nearly 6,400 meters above sea level, Ngima Wangchu's role is crucial. He oversees waste management, educates climbers on environmental compliance, and provides emergency support in one of the planet's most unforgiving environments. His presence, marked by "Mountain Ranger" emblazoned on his jacket, serves as a subtle deterrent, reminding climbers that their actions are being monitored and that adherence to new regulations, such as bringing down at least two kilograms of garbage from higher camps, is mandatory.

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I stare at them sometimes just to give them the feeling that I’m like a policeman here and that throwing garbage is being monitored. This season many climbers started noticing me. I don’t want to make them afraid, but I want them to know someone is watching.

Introduced this spring by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), the program establishes an Everest Rangers Base at Camp II. Ngima Wangchu, a seasoned four-time Everest summiteer, is tasked with ensuring climbers and guides comply with waste removal rules. Collected waste is weighed, bagged, and transported down, a vital step in mitigating the pollution that threatens the mountain's fragile ecosystem.

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We collect the waste brought by climbers, weigh it, put it into sacks and issue a clearance chit. Later, the collected waste is taken to Camp I and then transported by drones to Everest Base Camp.

For Ngima Wangchu, this assignment is a new challenge. Beyond waste collection, he encourages climbers to maintain Everest's cleanliness and responds to emergencies, providing oxygen or assisting in rescues. The scale of the problem is immense, with discarded oxygen cylinders, tents, ropes, food packaging, and bodily waste freezing for years, only to reappear as glaciers melt, with plastic posing a particularly persistent threat.

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This is my first experience as a ranger. We not only collect garbage but also encourage climbers to keep Everest clean. Besides, we do respond to emergencies, supplying bottled oxygen to those in need in the higher camps or rescue climbers.