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aint that some .
Sanitation problems for climbers
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -- Mountaineers who ascend North America's loftiest peak are often brought down to earth by "virus-laden poo" left behind by previous climbers, a medical report says.
The unsanitary conditions created by piles of human feces on Mount McKinley can cause diarrhea among climbers, which can lead to widespread problems when combined with the physical stress of a mountain expedition, according to the report in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.
Of 132 climbers interviewed on the 20,320-foot (6,200-meter) peak in the summer of 2002, more than a quarter reported having trouble with diarrhea, said the report, which was conducted by officials with the Alaska Division of Public Health.
At high al udes and in cold temperatures, the authors said those troubles can be severe and potentially dangerous, leading to acute mountain sickness, hypothermia and fatigue-related accidents.
"They think they're going out on a pristine climb and there's virus-laden poo all around them," said Dr. Bradford Gessner, a mountaineer and one of the study's authors.
The researchers said other peaks around the world had similar sanitation troubles but they did not have data on the degree of the problem.
The study recommends a campaign to better educate climbers about hygiene and to impose stiffer penalties for breaches. Climbers also should use alcohol-based hand sanitizers or other antiseptic cleansers after defecating, use purification tablets for drinking water and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements.
Such steps also are appropriate in other well-traveled climbing routes, like Washington's Mount Rainier and on Himalayan peaks, they said.
The National Park Service already has started a clean-up campaign, including the distribution of devices called clean mountain cans to store feces for removal from the mountain, said Roger Robinson, lead mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and Preserve, site of McKinley.
Because of the harsh conditions, piles of feces have ac ulated at the mountain's crowded high camp, located at 17,200 feet (5,200 meters), Robinson said.
"It's just an ice pack up there. You really can't dig down and bury anything," he said.
aint that some .
I thought rolled downhill.
In that case, there are lots of mountains in my backyard.
:vomit
I hear there is a similar problem in any popular backcountry area, even when disposal of human waste is easier than it is on an ice pack. People are supposed to dig a cathole with a trowel and bury their . Instead they do it on the ground, wipe their ass, and leave the and used towel paper on the ground with a rock covering it. Then some animal comes and knocks over the rock, and the toilet paper goes everywhere. Multiply this times 10,000 people, and your pristine national forest starts looking like a mix between the side of a highway and a sewer.
The animals get back at people, though. People just drop trau and take a leak near their campsite? Well, piss attracts mountain goats, who lick it up to get the salt. They also trample all over the campsite in the process.
This is all pretty damn gross, huh?
That's nasty. :vomit
we don't have to worry about that in South Texas...we have dung beetles to clean that mess up...
Scarabs!!
we don't have to worry about that in South Texas...we have dung beetles to clean that mess up...
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