尼泊尔登山者将清理珠穆朗玛峰垃圾

Twenty Nepali climbers are setting off to Qomolangma this week to try and remove decades-old garbage from the mountain in the world's highest ever clean-up campaign, organizers said on Monday.

Many foreign and Nepali climbers have cleaned Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, in the past, but Namgyal Sherpa, leader of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, said no one had dared to clean above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet), an area known as the "death zone" for the lack of oxygen and treacherous terrain. Some 300 lives have been lost there since 1953.

Namgyal Sherpa and his team of seasoned climbers, carrying empty rucksacks and special bags, will risk the zone's thin air and freezing temperatures to pick empty oxygen bottles, gas canisters, torn tents, ropes, and utensils lying between the South Col and the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit.

"This is the first time we are cleaning at that height, in the death zone. It is very difficult and dangerous," said Namgyal Sherpa, who has climbed the world's tallest peak, seven times.

"The garbage was buried under snow in the past. But now it has come out on the surface because of the melting of snow due to global warming," the 30-year-old said. "The rubbish is creating problems for climbers ... Some items of garbage are from Hillary's time."

The mountain has become known as being the world's highest garbage dump. Many climbers leave their gear and trash behind as they descend due to exhaustion and lack of oxygen.

Namgyal Sherpa's team hopes to bring down at least 2,000 kg of garbage and the corpse of a climber killed two years ago.

"I have seen three corpses lying there for years," Namgyal Sherpa said.

"We'll bring down the body of a Swiss climber who died in the mountain in 2008 and cremate it below the base camp for which we have got the family's consent."

New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa were the first to ascend to Qomolangma 's summit in 1953. That feat opened Nepal as a popular tourist destination. Since then more than 4,000 climbers have since scaled the mountain and tourism, including climbing, is a key source of income for Nepal, among the world's poorest countries.

一项在世界海拔最高的地方开展的“大扫除”活动日前启动。据活动组织者本周一介绍，20名尼泊尔登山者将于本周启程前往珠穆朗玛峰，清理被丢弃在这里长达数十年的垃圾。

之前有很多外国和尼泊尔登山者对珠峰进行过清理，但据“2010珠峰极地探险”活动的领队纳姆格亚尔．夏尔巴介绍，至今还没有人敢去海拔八千米（26246英尺）以上的地带清理垃圾，这一区域由于缺氧和地势危险而被称为“死亡地带”。自1953年以来，已有大约300人在这里丧命。

此次，纳姆格亚尔．夏尔巴将带领经验丰富的登山队带着空帆布包和特制的袋子，前往位于珠峰南坳至8850米（29035英尺）峰顶间空气稀薄、气温极低的“死亡地带”，清理遗弃在这里的空氧气瓶、储气罐、废弃的帐篷、绳索和器皿等垃圾。

曾七次登上世界最高峰的纳姆格亚尔．夏尔巴说：“这是我们第一次在死亡区这么高的地带清理垃圾，难度很大，也很危险。”

这位30岁的登山者说：“这些垃圾过去被埋在雪里，但由于全球变暖导致积雪融化，现在垃圾都露了出来。这些垃圾会对登山者造成不便。有些垃圾甚至是埃德蒙．希拉里那个年代的登山者留下的。

珠峰现已成为世界海拔最高的垃圾堆。很多登山者由于体力不支和缺氧，在下山途中就将一些器具和垃圾丢在了山上。

纳姆格亚尔．夏尔巴的登山队希望带回至少两千公斤的垃圾，并将两年前遇难的一名登山者的尸体运回来。

纳姆格亚尔．夏尔巴说：“我在登山途中看到过三具尸体，已经有好几年了。”

“我们将把2008年遇难的一名瑞士登山者的尸体带下山，在登山营地火化，我们已征得其家属的同意。”

1953年，新西兰人埃德蒙．希拉里爵士和尼泊尔人丹增．诺尔盖首次登顶珠峰，使得尼泊尔成为一处颇受欢迎的旅游目的地。此后，共有四千多名登山者攀登过珠峰。尼泊尔是全球最为贫困的国家之一，包括登山在内的旅游业是其经济收入的主要来源。

Vocabulary:

treacherous：dangerous; hazardous（有潜在危险的）

seasoned：of a person having a lot of experience of a particular activity（经验丰富的，老练的）