China has developed ‘heavy lift’ drones to clean up Everest trash

However, it mostly fell on the literal shoulders of the Sherpa people who live in the high mountain regions of the Himalayas. Sherpa guides who help climbers navigate the mountains also collect trash and supplies left behind.

But the sheer volume of trash is so overwhelming that it has proven difficult and dangerous.

Revive the giant flying garbage robots.

Nepal plans to deploy unmanned “heavy lifting” drones that sound like a “swarm of bees” to remove trash, The Kathmandu Post reported.

These high-altitude drones could also help lay rope lines and prepare routes for climbers, reducing their reliance on Sherpas and potentially reducing injuries and deaths.

The drones were developed and manufactured by Chinese drone manufacturer Da Jiang Innovations. DJI also popularizes consumer drones in the United States and has been the target of a proposed ban on national security grounds.

The company delivered its first drone to Everest in April for a test run. A single drone was capable of transporting 500 pounds of trash per hour between two Everest base camps, a feat that would normally require more than a dozen Sherpas and take six hours, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Jagat Bhusal, head of the administration of the rural municipality that hosts Everest, told the Post that the use of drones will help Sherpas avoid navigating the “dangers of the Khumbu Icefall.”

The Khumbu Icefall is a 2.6-mile stretch of slowly cascading ice just above Base Camp on Everest’s “South Col” route. Everest’s 2024 climbing season was pushed back by 12 days in May after rising temperatures caused the glacier’s ice to collapse. Just last year, an avalanche on the Khumbu killed three Sherpas.

“Going up there part of the day and coming down the next day could look very different, and the likelihood of that getting worse with a warmer climate increases,” says Paul Mayewski, a Mount Everest researcher at the University of Maine . BI previously said.

Bhusal said Sherpas will be trained to operate the drones so that eventually “all the work will be done by Sherpas,” he told the Post.

“Yes, there are concerns that the machines could reduce jobs. But our only goal is to reduce potential deaths in the Khumbu Icefall, the danger zone,” Bhusal said.