cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Melting Glaciers on Denali Will Unleash Tons of Human Poop - Smithsonian
An estimated 66 tons of feces left behind by climbers is coming out of the deep freeze on North America’s highest peak
top the 20,310-foot Denali in Alaska will find stunning glacier, incredible views and poop. Lots of poop. Since 1906, people have attempted to summit the peak leaving behind tons of feces on the mountain. Now, reports Elizabeth Weise at USA Today, that mountain of waste threatens to be unleashed as climate change warms the mountain and opens literal poop shoots in the surface of the glaciers.
The problem of poop on Denali, the highest mountain in North America, grown over the years. For much of the 20th Century, climbing the mountain was reserved for scientists and elite explorers who pioneered many of the routes to the top. By the late 1970s, however, the climb had become more accessible for adventurous amateurs, with 680 climbers attempting to summit in 1979. That number has steadily grown, and last year over 1,100 climbers took part in expeditions up the mountain, about half joining a guided expedition.
The problem is, climbing Denali is not a day trip. On average, climbers spend 16 to 18 days on the mountain, acclimating at lower elevations and ferrying gear up to progressively higher camps before attempting the summit. All those people spending all that time on the mountain means lots of poop, about two tons per year.
An estimated 66 tons of feces left behind by climbers is coming out of the deep freeze on North America’s highest peak
top the 20,310-foot Denali in Alaska will find stunning glacier, incredible views and poop. Lots of poop. Since 1906, people have attempted to summit the peak leaving behind tons of feces on the mountain. Now, reports Elizabeth Weise at USA Today, that mountain of waste threatens to be unleashed as climate change warms the mountain and opens literal poop shoots in the surface of the glaciers.
The problem of poop on Denali, the highest mountain in North America, grown over the years. For much of the 20th Century, climbing the mountain was reserved for scientists and elite explorers who pioneered many of the routes to the top. By the late 1970s, however, the climb had become more accessible for adventurous amateurs, with 680 climbers attempting to summit in 1979. That number has steadily grown, and last year over 1,100 climbers took part in expeditions up the mountain, about half joining a guided expedition.
The problem is, climbing Denali is not a day trip. On average, climbers spend 16 to 18 days on the mountain, acclimating at lower elevations and ferrying gear up to progressively higher camps before attempting the summit. All those people spending all that time on the mountain means lots of poop, about two tons per year.