エベレスト登山者にＧＰＳ発信機携行と排せつ物持ち帰り義務化 ネパール

【カトマンズ（ネパール）ＡＦＰ＝時事】ネパールは、世界最高峰エベレスト登山の昨年の死者が過去最多に並んだのを受け、登山者に対し、全地球測位システム（ＧＰＳ）発信機の携行を義務付けた。併せて、犬用エチケット袋と同様の生分解性の袋で排せつ物をベースキャンプまで持ち帰ることも義務化した。（写真はエベレストベースキャンプ。資料写真）
　エベレストでは昨年、１８人の登山者が死亡した。うち少なくとも５人の遺体が発見されていない。
　ＧＰＳ発信機は、既に多くのプロ登山家に使用されている。登頂の進展状況のモニタリングに役立ち、安全面でも登頂を見守る支援要員にとっても重要な役割を果たしている。
　ネパール当局は、遭難事故が起きた場合、登山者の居場所を特定しやすくするため、今月から５月にかけての春の登山シーズン中、ＧＰＳ発信機の携帯を義務付ける。上着に簡単に縫い付けられる小型のもので、追跡範囲は、積雪の中で約２０メートル、空中ではその数倍の距離の追跡が可能となる見通しだ。
　当局は安全性の向上を目指す一方で、大量のごみが捨てられているエベレストの清掃にも力を入れている。
　エベレストには、空き缶、空き瓶、使用済みガスボンベ、捨てられた登山用具、プラスチックごみ、人の排せつ物などが散乱し、「世界一高所にあるごみ捨て場」とも呼ばれている。
　昨年、エベレスト登頂を目指した登山者とガイドは約６００人に上った。地元自治体は、ベースキャンプより先での排せつ袋の使用と持ち帰りも義務付けた。
　地元の自治体クーンブパサンガラム首長のミグマ・チリ・シェルパ氏は、「私たちの山々も、水源も汚染されている」「登山者はベースキャンプより先では生分解性の袋を使って用を足し、帰還時に適切に処分できるようにする必要がある」と話した。
　ベースキャンプでは、排せつ物を回収する容器付きのトイレが使用されている。だが、その先では地表が凍り、岩場の多い場所で埋めるのも難しいため、排せつ物はこれまで地面に放置されてきた。その結果、特に、雪解け水を飲料水として使用する登山者に健康上のリスクをもたらしている。
　当局が使用を義務付けた袋には、排せつ物を固めて乾燥させ、無臭化する化学物質が含まれており、南極大陸や米アラスカ州デナリなどでも使用されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/13-21:42）

Nepal has ordered Everest mountaineers to carry mandatory trackers after one of the deadliest seasons last year -- and remove their excrement using compostable bags similar to those used for dog waste.
Eighteen climbers were killed last year, including at least five bodies unrecovered on the highest mountain in the world, where authorities are keen to improve safety as well as clean up a sacred peak where tonnes of trash have been dumped.
GPS trackers are already used by many professional climbers, helping people monitor their progress on the peak, which is important for both security and the sponsors following the climb.
For the spring climbing season, which begins this month and runs to May, Nepal is expected to require less powerful but smaller passive trackers, which can be easily sewn into a jacket and require no power to function. They can be tracked by a handheld detector around 20 metres (66 feet) through packed snow, and several times that in the air.
Enforcing their use will help locate people in case of an accident, officials said.
The trackers are mandatory for climbers this year, so that if there is an accident their location can be accurately identified, Rakesh Gurung, director of mountaineering at Nepal's Tourism Department, told AFP on Tuesday.
The rapid growth of the climbing industry has created fierce competition among companies for business, and also raised fears that some are cutting corners on safety.
With around 600 climbers and guides reaching the top in 2023, the local rural municipality of Everest has also introduced a slew of new regulations, including mandatory poo bags to be used above base camp.
Tonnes of rubbish -- including empty cans, bottles and gas canisters, discarded climbing gear, and plastic and human waste -- litter the mountain, which has been dubbed the highest dumpster in the world.
- 'Polluted' -
Our mountains are getting polluted as well as our water sources, said Mingma Chiri Sherpa, the chairman of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality.
The climbers must use biodegradable bags above the base camp for their waste so it can be properly disposed of on their return, he said.
At base camp, climbers use toilets with barrels to collect waste.
But at higher levels, in the freezing conditions where ice and rock make it difficult to bury, excrement has previously been simply abandoned. That poses a health risk, especially with climbers using melted snow for drinking water.
Poo bags can contain chemicals that help dry and solidify waste, removing the stench, and have been used in other extreme conditions, including in Antarctica and on Denali in the US state of Alaska.
Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres (26,246 feet) and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
In the capital Kathmandu, expedition operators are busy preparing for their clients, checking mountaineering equipment and packing bags of food for mountaineers.
So far we expect at least 400 climbers this spring, said Damber Parajuli of the Expedition Operators' Association.
Specialised icefall doctors have already set off for Everest base camp, where they will begin setting the climbing route of ropes and ladders.
These highly skilled Nepali mountaineers are the first men on the peak every season, building a route across plunging crevasses and constantly shifting ice, including the treacherous Khumbu icefall.
Three Nepali climbers perished there last April when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into a crevasse as they were crossing the icefall on a supply mission.