As the tallest peak on earth, Mount Everest has always sparked awe and wonder in people. In 1953, Norwegian climber Edmund Hillary and Nepalese-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay completed the first documented ascent of Mount Everest. Since then, climbing Mount Everest has grown in popularity among professional and amateur climbers worldwide. Recent data shows that 6,664 different people have made it to the summit of Mount Everest. As of yet, 340 people have died making the journey to the summit, 200 of whom still remain on the mountain as it is too dangerous to retrieve the bodies.

Unfortunately, bodies are not the only thing that has been left behind on Mount Everest. As expeditions become more popular, Everest has become known as the Garbage Dump at the Top of the World. In 1991, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) was established with the support of governmental and non-governmental organizations to manage the waste left behind by tourists on Mount Everest and the surrounding areas. Decades of accumulation have resulted in an estimated 33 tons of garbage left behind on the mountain. SPCC helps to organize climbing permits and the removal of accumulated waste.

One of the changes put forth by the SPCC is that every person who climbs the mountain must return with 18 lbs of trash, the average amount of waste a climber brings up the mountain. While this is a start, there is still an unfathomable amount of waste on Mount Everest destroying the natural beauty and poisoning the environment. After months of coordinating with the SPCC and local authorities, a test trial of using drones to remove waste from Mount Everest took place in the spring of 2024.

The partnership brought together members from Hong Kong-based filmmakers 8KRAW, DJI, the Nepalese drone company Airlift, and Mingma G Sherpa, a renowned guide with Imagine Nepal. As guardians of the mountain, Mingma G Sherpa shared that the responsibility of cleaning the mountain often falls on Sherpas. In 2023, three of his Sherpas lost their lives in such efforts on the Khumbu Icefall. Mingma Chhiri Sherpa from the SPCC explained why using drones could be a turning point in restoring Mount Everest to a pristine environment.

“To minimize the risk in the Khumbu Icefall, we have to use technology, like you know DJI and these kinds of drones,” Mingma Chhiri Sherpa said. “It’s very good, and if our testing is successful, it can be a kind of revolution in our mountaineering sector.” The test was conducted in April when weather conditions are considered to be at their best. The team used a DJI FlyCart 30 drone that is specifically designed as a delivery drone. As revealed on DJI’s website, the FlyCart 30 is a “long-distance heavy lifter with powerful signal and intelligence. DJI FlyCart 30 supports Cargo mode and Winch mode and ascends beyond traditional logistical limits to deliver a safe, economical, and efficient air transport solution.”

The drone was launched from the Mount Everest Base Camp. The drone’s cargo hold carried three oxygen bottles and other supplies to Camp 1 at an elevation of 5,300-6,000m through winds reaching up to 15 m/s and temperatures of -20°C. On the return flight, the drone was loaded with 33 lbs of garbage, almost double the amount required from each person climbing the mountain to bring down on their own.

According to Johny Jiang, an engineer with DJI and the drone pilot for the trial, using the drone is fairly simple. “Right now we’re using automatic flight routes,” he said. “It flies the delivery to the destination, descends, releases the cargo, and then takes the trash away. Then it can automatically return along the same route. The process is very straightforward.”

It is this straightforward process that may just be the key to restoring Mount Everest to its original glory, free of waste left by those brave enough to scale its slopes. As the first-ever drone delivery and trash removal to be attempted on Mount Everest, this monumental trial could prove to be the future of pollution control at the top of the world.

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