A group of 20 people have braved the dangerous "death zone" conditions of Mount Everest to clear the peak of rubbish left behind by climbers.More than 4,000 adventurers have scaled the peak since 1953, which means it has become the world's highest dump.
Many climbers leave behind their used gear and rubbish before they descend due to exhaustion and lack of oxygen.
While there have been past efforts to clean up the mountain, no team has ever ventured into the thin air and freezing temperatures of the so-called death zone.
Namgyal Sherpa, leader of the Extreme Everest Expedition 2010, took his group above the 8,000-metre mark to collect empty oxygen bottles, gas canisters, torn tents, ropes and utensils.
"Collecting the rubbish is quite a risky task. Such tasks cannot be carried out by anybody," Mr Namgyal said.
After a dangerous 40-day campaign, the waste brought back to base camp was expected to weigh around 2,000kg.
But the team was not only concerned with the impact of garbage on Mt Everest but also with the threat of global warming.
"We used to climb over snow. These days we climb over rocks," Mr Namgyal added.
"If it continues this way succeeding generations will only be able to read in books that there was once snow in the Himalayas."
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