Okay. American woman. Makes sense.
The story is almost absurd.
It hasn’t been as good year for climbing’s image, that’s for sure.
That is a textbook definition of “shitshow”.
It’s not called Shitshowpangma for nothing.
I laughed more than I should have …
This isn’t about Everest, but was an interesting article about two dead climbers on Aconcagua. I enjoyed the article and think it was accidental…no foul play.
It does give you insight into how altitude can fuck with you, particularly without supplemental oxygen.
It’s a start i suppose …
Something else for the sherpas to carry.
From the article:
On average, a climber is thought to produce 250 grams of excrement per day. They usually spend about two weeks on the higher camps for the summit attempt.
“With that as the basis, we plan to give them two bags, each of which they can use five to six times,” Mr Chhiring explains.
You have to reuse the bags? So you’ve got to reopen it, poop in it again, then tie it back up? I’d bring a roll of XL doggie poop bags to avoid that.
frozen poop isn’t that objectionable. The carrying it around part will be fun though.
Gives a new meaning to the phrase “Taking a shit”…
It doesn’t come out frozen though. And I’m guessing at least some climbers are having digestion issues on the mountain, so they may be reusing a bag before it’s got a chance to solidify.
from what i’ve read the end product is not very solid. the job of relining the bucket is not wildly popular.
WAG bags contain a powder that coats the poo and gels up. It’s quite effective. Developed by NASA apparently. Some hiking areas in the US where catholes are not feasible require them. Parts of Canyonlands NP, Paria Canyon.
I suspect there’s a pretty strong incentive to wait until your poop has solidified and frozen, before opening the bag back up…
Speaking from personal experience, when you’ve spent a few weeks in wilderness conditions, shitting into catholes or smearing it on to a sun-facing rock (the preferred method above the timberline, so that the feces dry up and disperse; this is what I was taught at the National Outdoor Leadership School in 1992), your squeamishness quotient tends diminish.
Yeah, don’t do this. That may have been a sensible idea in an era when the next person to come along might be in 6 months time, but most wilderness areas are much more heavily used now.
So what then is the currently preferred technique, when you’re on scree or in some place where you can’t dig a cathole? FWIW, my NOLS class was in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Which, while gorgeous and majestic, don’t draw as many tourists or back-country hikers as Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain National Park.
Current recommended practice for areas above the treeline is to pack it all out.
It might come in handy.