About
We are a group of British and US climbers, Nepalese Sherpas, US scientists, and Nepalese scientists, who find the flushing of more than 1000 climber’s and basecamp workers human waste onto the ground near Everest basecamp objectionable and life threatening. Don’t you?
2021 Spring Report
As per our record; total teams and members at EBC:
Everest = 46 teams; total members = 404
Lhotse = 16 teams; total members = 131
Nuptse = 4 teams; total members = 38
Sherpas – 1100
Total toilets – 550
However, around 70 climbers have permits for climbing two mountains so tentatively total climbers at EBC was around 503.
We don’t have records of how many Sherpas were there at EBC; and thus we don’t know exactly how many people were at EBC this year.
Total human waste generated in spring 2021 at EBC = 22,803 kgs
The human waste was more this year as compared to the past year, because the duration of stay of the teams at EBC was longer this year because of two consecutive cyclones.
Volunteer
Kathmandu university colloboration
Launched in April 2010, Mount Everest Biogas Project founders Dan Mazur and Garry Porter each had first-hand experience of Mount Everest and the environmental impact of untreated climber’s waste being dumped at Gorak Shep, a remote community in Nepal located along the trail to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Dan Mazur has guided Mount Everest climbers for more than 20 years and spends six months a year in Nepal and Tibet. Garry Porter is an engineer by trade and a retired Boeing program manager.
In 2012, Mount Everest Biogas Project expanded its engineering team and began tackling the human waste issue by setting out to design an unprecedented biogas system. With volunteers from a range of professional industries, Mount Everest Biogas Project is affiliated with the Seattle chapter of Engineers Without Borders and Architects Without Borders.
Mission Statement
Mount Everest Biogas Project’s mission is to deploy a visionary solar-powered biogas system capable of operating at extreme high-altitude environmental conditions, eliminating the hazardous dumping of untreated human waste.
Helping preserve the Mount Everest region, Mount Everest Biogas Project’s pilot project in Gorak Shep (elevation 5,180m/17,000ft) will be a first-of-its-kind, ensuring the safe disposal of human waste generated by climbers at Everest Base Camp. In addition, the system will provide direct and indirect benefits to the people of Nepal in the form of environmentally safe products: a clean burning renewable energy source (methane gas) and an odorless nutrient-rich effluent that may be used as fertilizer.
Long term, Mount Everest Biogas Project sees additional opportunity to replicate this project and deploy the technology in other remote high altitude locations around the world. Hundreds of areas can also benefit from this technology design to improve the lives of local communities and the environment by reducing pollution, deforestation, health risks and costs to obtain usable fuel sources.
Vision
Beginning with simple off-the-shelf technology systems already widely established and readily available in Nepal, Mount Everest Biogas Project has designed a new solution that accommodates the harsh conditions and fragile infrastructure in the remote villages surrounding Mount Everest.
Mount Everest Biogas Project’s technology is based on a common anaerobic biogas digester, a system that uses microorganisms to break down waste and produce biogas. Mount Everest Biogas Project’s modified design has been under scientific study and design evolution since 2010.
Mount Everest Biogas Project’s Basis of Design document has been extensively peer reviewed by outside technical firms in the engineering community. In addition, the technology has proven technically feasible for its effectiveness in converting human waste in extreme temperature conditions via lab testing at Kathmandu University.
Mount Everest Biogas Project’s immediate vision is to construct this customized biogas digester system in the highest altitude village, Gorak Shep, located just below Everest Base Camp. Mount Everest Biogas Project’s design will utilize 100% of the human waste created at Everest Base Camp.
Long term, Mount Everest Biogas Project could expand operations in Nepal to increase the region’s capacity for tourism in a sustainable way. Local leaders and members of the Gorak Shep Teahouse Owners Association expect the prototype biogas system will lead to others once it has been proven. The high-altitude biogas system will allow the region to bring in more trekkers and climbers without an increase in pollution or risk to water quality in the surrounding regions.
In recent years, Mount Everest has received international press about the pollution on the mountain. The biogas system would be an important step to restore the mountain to its natural condition while allowing the climbing community to enjoy its beauty and bounty.
The Team
Nick Ueland
PROJECT MARKETING MANAGER AND WEB PAGE DEVELOPER
Nick is the chief safety officer at Stone Gardens, Inc. Climbing Gyms. He holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Washington.
Ann Siqveland
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND FUNDRAISING MANAGER
Ann is a renewable energy project developer. With ten years of experience in utility-scale wind and solar energy project development, she serves as Development Director at OneEnergy Renewables while her previous experience includes positions with global companies, EDP Renewables and EDF Renewable Energy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Montana.
Mingma Tenzing Sherpa
IN-COUNTRY LIAISON
Mingma was born and raised in Namche Bazar, Nepal and has been deeply involved with the project since its inception. He is an influential member of the Mount Everest National Park Buffer Zone Committee with a track record of participation in environmental and cultural preservation projects in the Khumbu Valley. He is a devout Buddhist with a degree from Kathmandu University.
Brenda Bednar
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Brenda is as a nurse-midwife at Swedish hospital, with prior work experience as a project manager and in non-profit fundraising. She has a Bachelor of Science in sociology from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S.N. from Yale University. Her interest in the Mount Everest Biogas Project led her to join the May 2016 site visit, documenting the team’s journey to Base Camp.
Joe Swain
LEAD ARCHITECT
Joe is an architect based in Seattle. He has worked on biogas-integrated projects in Massachusetts and Washington and has design experience in India and Sri Lanka. He holds a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Mathematics from Brown University.
Michael Marsolek
RESEARCH
Dan holds a PhD degree in Urban Planning. Through the Mount Everest Foundation for Sustainable Development in Nepal & Tibet (MEFSD), he has built schools & health clinics for local families in remote districts of Nepal. He has also summited Mount Everest multiple times & is employed by Summit Trek where he leads climbing $ walking trips to Nepal & Tibet.
Garry Porter
PROJECT MANAGER
Garry is a retired Boeing Company Program manager with over 34 years of engineering and program management experience. He holds a Master of Science degree in engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska.
Dan Mazur
NEPAL LIASON MANAGER
Dan holds a PhD degree in Urban Planning. Through the Mount Everest Foundation for Sustainable Development in Nepal & Tibet (MEFSD), he has built schools & health clinics for local families in remote districts of Nepal. He has also summited Mount Everest multiple times & is employed by Summit Trek where he leads climbing $ walking trips to Nepal & Tibet.
Affiliated Organizations
- Architects Without Borders – Seattle chapter
- Engineers Without Borders – Puget Sound Professional chapter
- Gorak Shep Tea House Owners Association
- Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee
- Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone Management Committee
- Biogas Sector Partnership – Nepal
- Mt. Everest Foundation for Sustainable Development
- Plumbers Without Borders
