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Thread: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

  1. #1
    A Veteran Wargamer Member kiwitt's Avatar
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    Default Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    ... sh#t behind.

    see NZ Herald about viruses received by subsequent mountaineers on Mt McKinley

    Quote Originally Posted by REUTERS
    Frozen poo plagues mountaineers in Alaska

    16.06.05 3.20pm

    ANCHORAGE - 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 insanitary conditions created by piles of human faeces on Mount McKinley can cause diarrhoea 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 6200m peak in the summer of 2002, more than a quarter reported having trouble with diarrhoea, the report conducted by officials with the Alaska Division of Public Health said.

    At high altitudes 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," Dr Bradford Gessner, a mountaineer and one of the study's authors said.

    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 sanitisers 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-travelled climbing routes, like Washington's Mount Rainier and on Himalayan peaks, they said.

    The US National Park Service already has started a clean-up campaign, including the distribution of devices called clean mountain cans to store faeces for removal from the mountain, Roger Robinson, lead mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and Preserve, site of McKinley, said.

    Because of the harsh conditions, piles of faeces have accumulated at the mountain's crowded high camp at 5200 m, Robinson said.

    "It's just an ice pack up there. You really can't dig down and bury anything," he said.
    Last edited by kiwitt; 06-16-2005 at 04:56.
    We work to live, and to live is to, play "Total War" or drive a VR-4

  2. #2

    Default Re: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    Rules to live by:
    1. Don't fry bacon without a shirt on.
    2. Don't p*ss against the wind.
    3. DON'T EAT YELLOW SNOW!

    C'mon, this is playground 101.
    ..::Noobs don't own themselves!::..

  3. #3
    Wolf_NimbleNota Member NimbleNota's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    Silly Americans

  4. #4
    Evil Sadist Member discovery1's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    Quote Originally Posted by NimbleNota
    Silly Americans
    Somehow I doubt it's just an American thing. Climbers on Everest don't even bother to bring down bodies they are so weak.


    GoreBag: Oh, Prole, you're a nerd's wet dream.

  5. #5
    Tree Killer Senior Member Beirut's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    Nothing but footprints!

    Rule No.1 amongst us when clearing land or doing any job that calls for/allows pooping in the woods, especially when spending several days in the same spot. What this means is that when you're done, there should be no evidence of your actions save for footprints. Any sign of anything biological and thou shalt be killed.

    When peeing in the snow, thou art expected the stomp the snow after to avoid discoloration of the natural environment.

    Pooping in the woods is an art and should be treated as such.
    Unto each good man a good dog

  6. #6
    Senior Member Senior Member English assassin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mountaineers really do leave their ....

    This is a problem around the more popular bothies in Scotland too. More than once I have headed out with the s*** shovel, turned over a lump of peat, only to uncover a previous "offering".

    they actually pulled down a few of the bothies that were too easily accessible, since they got into a really foul state.

    Personally, if its buried, I say fair enough. The SAS may carry their turds out with them but no one else is going to. if you are going to stay in a bothy, or go on a well travelled peak, you can't object to meeting other people,and people do turds. And turds are biomatter after all. What I object to are:

    (1) turds sitting proudly on the surface, revealed by the spring thaw. Burying it under snow isn't enough.

    (2) Bog paper. Burn it, or use the special stuff designed for use in sailing boats that disintegrates rapidly in water.
    "The only thing I've gotten out of this thread is that Navaros is claiming that Satan gave Man meat. Awesome." Gorebag

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