Mount Everest - The Biggest Rubbish Heap?

A while ago I read the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. It was really interesting to read about the different groups who take on Everest and all the blood, sweat and tears involved in climbing the world's highest mountain. But something disturbed me about the book. No it wasn't the fact that this was a personal account of the Everest disaster where eight climbers died. That was upsetting, but not as disturbing as the mention of litter that has been left on Mount Everest. What an awful thought. It changed the way my mind's eye pictured Mount Everest forever and I feel shame (once again) to be a member of the human race.

But while I sit and worry about it and try to block it out of my head, there are people who care enough to get up and do something about it. Ken Noguchi from Japan along with other Japanese and Nepalese climbers climbed Mount Everest and picked up 500 kg (about 1,000 lbs) of tins, old tents, food and medicines which had been left behind by mountaineers. Click here to read the full story. Hopefully we will have learnt from this. Thank you Ken for leading the way.

Making the Difference

As the old man walked along the beach at dawn, he noticed a young woman ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Finally catching up with the woman, he asked her why she was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until morning.

“But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish,” he said. “How can your efforts make any difference?”

The young woman looked at the starfish in her hand and then threw it to safety into the waves. “It makes a difference to this one!” she said.

~ Author Unknown