Reality Check: Will there be a huge clear up of garbage on Everest this year?

April 5, 2017 Opinion and advice asian trekking, commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, mountain environment, nepal, nepal earthquake, waste management 5 Comments

In this era of fake news, the BBC has launched a Reality Check series to analyse popular news stories that sound plausible and assess whether or not they’re bollocks. I thought it might be fun to run one the BBC’s own stories through a reality check.

Poo in the Everest region: is it such a big problem?

March 18, 2015 Opinion and advice aconcagua, alan arnette, ama dablam, denali, everest, himalayas, media sensationalism, mera peak, mountain environment, mountaineering ethics, nepal, tibet, tim mosedale, waste management

Recently I wrote a satirical piece about a fictional washroom at Everest Base Camp as a reaction to more sensationalised media reporting about Everest. But the reports contained a grain of truth that I intend to fertilise in this post.

A mountain of deceit: introducing Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism

May 28, 2014 Opinion and advice climbing fatalities, climbing permits, commercial mountaineering, everest, everest base camp, media sensationalism, mountain environment, mountain flights, nepal, sherpas, waste management 6 Comments

The government of Nepal made a number of announcements about mountaineering on Everest before and during the Spring 2014 season, which received widespread media attention. Here I examine some of the announcements and assess how successfully the government met their intentions.

A media guide to Mount Everest

March 12, 2014 Humour commercial mountaineering, everest, media sensationalism, nepal, sherpas, the guardian, tibet, waste management 12 Comments

With the Everest climbing season nearly upon us there will soon be a flurry of articles in the mainstream media. With journalists under pressure to knock together something emotive at short notice by pasting from websites or phoning up random mountaineers for soundbites, I thought I would put together a media guide to help save time.

Turning mountains into trash heaps

March 5, 2011 Opinion and advice 8000m peaks, arian lemal, baruntse, everest, expedition food, gasherbrum, himalayas, k2, karakoram, leave no trace, makalu, michael odell, mountain environment, nepal, pakistan, waste management 0 Comment

The environmental cost of mountaineering expeditions Base camp on the east side of Baruntse, Nepal, is one of the most breathtaking settings you’re ever likely to come across. Hemmed in by rock walls on two sides, to the west the