As decades of expeditions leave Mount Everest littered with tonnes of waste, a Nepali drone company is now flying missions to remove debris – while simultaneously delivering critical climbing supplies.
Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, is as treacherous as it is majestic – and decades of expeditions have left it polluted with abandoned tents, oxygen bottles, and other debris.
Now, a Nepali company is deploying drones to tackle the mountain's waste problem while also assisting climbers.
Airlift Technology, Nepal's first commercial drone operator, has begun transporting equipment up Everest, effectively serving as an aerial counterpart to traditional Sherpa support. The drones are particularly useful in the Khumbu Icefall, one of the most lethal sections of the climb, where Sherpas risk their lives carrying 20-30 kg loads through unstable terrain. The same journey that takes climbers 7-9 hours on foot can now be completed by drone in just three minutes.
But the company's mission goes beyond logistics. The company's drones never fly back empty. Instead, the drones collect waste on their return trips, targeting the tonnes of rubbish that have accumulated in Everest's camps over 75 years of expeditions.
Nima Rinji Sherpa, speaking to our colleagues from RTL Télé, emphasised that blame is less important than action. He argued that the waste simply built up over time, stating, "Now is the right time to come together and do something about it."
The initiative has already yielded results: between March and May, over 1,000 kg of debris was removed from the mountain in collaboration with local NGOs and the Nepalese government.
