Mount Everest Climbers Will Soon Be Required to Pay a $4,000 ‘Clean-Up Fee’

December 31, 2025

A few years ago, Nepal made it a requirement for Everest summit hopefuls to pack their trash. Eighteen pounds of it, to be exact. It’s estimated that there are around 50 tons of trash littered all over the world’s highest peak, so climbers were required to take garbage back down the mountain — theirs or not, it didn’t matter — or give up a $4,000 deposit. Authorities were hopeful that the camp on South Col in particular would look a little more pristine and a little less garbage dumpy, but it looks as though $4,000 was an acceptable price to pay for doing the downclimb unencumbered. Either that or the climbers would simply take 18 pounds of garbage from a lower camp, where the issue isn’t quite so glaring. THE Inertia