Use the list at the right to navigate to presentations, slides, and posters by categories for all conferences. ==>
The 2014 Sustainable Summits Conference built on the wildly successful 2010 American Alpine Club-hosted conference “Exit Strategies: Managing Human Waste in the Wild.” In attendance were land managers, climbers, planners, and scientists representing the world’s mountainous regions. The second Sustainable Summits conference continued to shape and share environmentally sustainable solutions in mountain areas along with developing global partnerships. Presented by an alliance of mountain recreation and conservation organizations, the conference was open to interested parties from around the world.
Brad Rassler wrote a summary of the conference on his blog, SustainablePlay. Read “On the Sustainability of Summits” here.
Read more about Sustainable Summits 2014 here.
The conference schedule is below.
Opening night:
Conrad Anker
Climbing in the Alaska Range
Denali National Park
Aerial Video of the Alaska Range
Ken Karstens
Pioneer Denali Climbers
Day 1 (21 July 2014):
Phil Powers
Welcome from the American Alpine Club
The Executive Director of the American Alpine Club, Phil’s previous experience in the non-profit world included vice president for institutional advancement at Naropa University and seventeen years with the National Outdoor Leadership School as chief mountaineering instructor and development/partnerships director. He remains an owner/guide with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides.
KEYNOTE
Peter Metcalf
From Fringe to Mainstream: Mountaineering’s transformation in North America.
The founding CEO/President of Black Diamond Equipment, Peter is a strong advocate for public lands protection and the role of the outdoor industry.
Sustainable Practices: This Works
In a fast changing environment, including climate change impacts, we need research and actions for the long term. This session built on what works while seeking out and adopting new ideas for capacity, ecosystem management, and backcountry access.
Ben Lawhon and Peter Whittaker
The New Leave No Trace Mountaineering Curriculum: Formalizing and Improving on Informal Practice.
The mountaineering community has been supporting and practicing Leave No Trace for decades, sharing techniques informally. Nevertheless, there had been little written information and no recognized curriculum. This changed in 2011 when the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, in partnership with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., developed a mountaineering-specific Leave No Trace curriculum. The process took almost a year and has yielded a comprehensive yet succinct set of guidelines that mountaineers can follow to minimize their impacts around the globe. According to Ben Lawhon, Education Director for the Center, “This curriculum will give the mountaineering community the tools necessary to protect the places they cherish.”
As education director for Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, Ben manages Leave No Trace national education, training, and international initiatives. Peter, co-owner of RMI, believes that “As one of the largest users of the resource, it’s our responsibility to reduce the impact on the mountain.”
Aukje van Gerven
Envirotrek: Having Fun With Sustainable Mountain Tourism.
One hundred million tourists visit the European Alps every year, a figure that doesn’t include smaller mountains and hills in nearby regions. The pressure on these precious natural environments, natural resources, flora, and fauna is severe. To improve awareness, education, and direct action in these areas, “Respect the Mountains” was born in 2004. Envirotrek is the flagship product of Respect the Mountains. This action-focused, one-day event brings together all stakeholders (public and private) who directly benefit from beautiful mountain areas. These combined groups spend a morning getting their hands dirty cleaning up a high traffic area, which results in the removal of hundreds of kilograms of plastic, old ski equipment, industrial waste, and other things contaminating the local environment.
Almost everyone who participates is astounded first by how severe the problem is and second by the fruits of their labor. This is an especially powerful realization for youth. Having worked up a hunger, the group shares a barbeque, where special prizes are given for the morning cleanup activity. In the afternoon, under the guidance of local professionals, the group is offered a choice of outdoor adventure activities and enjoys the best the outdoors has to offer. These days are packed with fun and enthusiasm. In 2014 there are nine events in six European countries.
Aukje van Gerven is Director of the Netherlands-based non-profit organization Respect the Mountains. During a sustainability-focused cycle-expedition from Tanzania to the Netherlands, she witnessed the unspoiled beauty of the mountains in Ethiopia and observed the full extent of heavy mountain tourism in her own backyard when she cycled across the European Alps.
Karen Rollins
Best Environmental Practices for Managing Energy, Water, and Wastewater at Off-Grid Mountain Facilities.
Karen Rollins is Project Director of Backcountry Energy Environmental Solutions (BEES), a Canadian non-profit that procures and shares information on the best technology and practices for energy, as well as the technological solutions for managing potable, gray, and black water in remote mountain locations.
Nick Lewis
Garbage In, Garbage Out: Managing Environmental Impacts on Antarctica’s Highest Mountains.
Nick heads Mountain Operations for Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC. A geologist and environmental scientist by training, he has climbed all over the world and guides in the Arctic and Antarctic. His interests include environmental impact assessments, management systems, risk assessments, and remote logistics.
Tetsuya Hanamura
Environmental Management on Mt. Fuji and Mountains in Japan.
Declared a World Cultural Heritage site in 2013, Japan’s Mt Fuji is a sacred place for worship and a source of artistic inspiration worldwide. In 2013, some 300,000 people climbed Mt. Fuji during the two months of July and August. The scale of such impact is a huge challenge. Dr. Hanamura described mountain management for this large numbers of visitors, including trash minimization and mountain toilet problems. He also described environmental practices in other Japanese mountains, including garbage clean up, human waste management, and the protection of alpine flowers and animals.
Dr. Hanamura is Vice President, International Relations, and Editor of the monthly magazine of the Japan Workers Alpine Federation (JWAF) which has 20,000 members. He is also a Member of the Coordination Committee for Mountain Conservation, consisting of seven mountain associations in Japan, and was a member of the drafting committee of the JWAF Declaration on the Preservation of Nature that came into effect in 2006. He received his MS Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley and his doctorate from Kyoto University and was Professor of Civil Engineering at Okayama (National) University from 2000-2009.
Traute Parrie
Sustainable Leadership.
Traute will describe some of the resources at risk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and opportunities to change things. The GYE, a magnet for visitors from around the globe, spans from the Tetons to the Beartooths, with famed mountains and waterfall ice climbs. It is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in Earth’s northern temperate zone. The GYE is also one of the world’s foremost natural laboratories for landscape ecology and geology.
Teaming with the Yellowstone Business Partnership, the Beartooth Ranger District of the US Forest Service is working to promote sustainable operations in businesses and organizations throughout the Greater Yellowstone Area. Traute described the Partnership’s “UnCommon Sense” course, a two-year leadership program for businesses and organizations seeking to operate more efficiently and responsibly. The goal is a “triple bottom line.”
Traute has been the District Ranger of the Beartooth Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Red Lodge Montana since 2007. In her 30 years with the Forest Service, she has worked in the mountains of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and Washington. She always worked in the field, often in backcountry.
Phunuru Sherpa and Conrad Anker
The Khumbu Climbing School: A Model for Mountaineering Leadership.
The Khumbu Climbing School (KCS) is an annual vocational training and instructional program for Nepali climbers. The school is designed to increase the competency of Nepali people who climb and/or work in the high mountains. Everest is increasingly a crowded mountain. With traffic jams, elevated tensions, and waste issues in a fragile environment, Everest reflects many of the challenges humans face in the coming decades. The big question for Everest is carrying capacity. Once this is agreed upon, the next steps can be implemented. What can we learn from mountain tourism on Denali and how the National Park Service regulate use?
Phunuru Sherpa has summited Everest four times and has been a Khumbu Climbing School Instructor for five years. He has also been an exchange ranger at Denali National Park.
Markus Hallgren
Extreme Environments – Everyday Decision-making.
Markus Hällgren is a professor in business administration at Umeå School of Business and Economics, Umeå University, Sweden. Hällgren researches temporary organizations and projects, with a particular interest in decision-making, goals, and team dynamics. He has studied mountaineering expeditions since 2007 and climbed Lobuche East in 2013 (6110m). Hällgren manages the research program “Extreme Environments – Everyday Decision-making.”
Zara Sanchez
Environmental Practices in Peru’s Protected Natural Areas.
Protected Natural Areas (ANP) are fundamental to the natural heritage of Peru. Besides conserving Peru’s extraordinary biological diversity, natural areas are of enormous importance for the environmental services they provide.
Zara Sanchez of SERNANP is a specialist in natural protected areas.
Day 2 (22 July 2014):
Planning and Access
Getting it right from the start often involves many stakeholders including property owners, guides, governments, and indigenous peoples. Planning for these diverse interest groups is a necessary step for long-term backcountry management and a precursor to implementation. This session reviewed case studies of successful planning and some pitfalls along the way.
Matthew Klick
Sustainable Mountain Development from a Human Population Perspective.
Hanno Doenz
Environmental Practices of the International Federation of Mountain Guides.
The foundation, history, and options in a mountain guide’s daily work vary widely across IFMGA member countries worldwide. Originally the IFMGA (a.k.a. UIAGM) started in Alpine countries, where there are few spaces without paths, cable cars, mountain huts, roads, and/or ski stations. Then the IFMGA expanded to North America where there are very structured regulations, especially in the national parks. Now the IFMGA also covers the very remote mountain ranges in South America and Central Asia. Due to this great variety, the work and the education of mountain guides has to follow diverse approaches to sustainability. Yet the goal is the same all over the world: to conserve the mountain areas for future generations, bearing in mind that these regions are also the base for the furtherance professional guiding.
Hanno Doenz, a former teacher and Austrian mountain guide for over 25 years, has been a member of the board of the guides’ association. In his two years as president of the IFMGA, his responsibility is to organize and coordinate guide education worldwide.
Scott Massey
The Professional Mountain Guide as a Partner for Education and Resource Protection.
The American Mountain Guides Association’s push to set the highest standards in our mountain areas. Mountain guides in the U.S. have historically been viewed as “commercial users,” working in an industry with few unifying standards that support common best practices with regards to safety protocols. This also extends to a historic lack of best practices for environmental stewardship and wilderness ethics. Since the AMGA’s founding in 1979, its goal has been to unify the guiding profession and set standards for public safety and resource stewardship. Rather than endorse the common view of mountain guides as merely another type of “commercial user,” the AMGA supports the development of 21st century policies and paradigms that reflect the changing nature of how individuals are introduced to the outdoors. The AMGA also works to build the crucial partnership between the professional user and land manager that fosters public safety and public education for conservation and resource stewardship.
A former outdoor educator and AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, Scott is the Advocacy Director for the AMGA. He works with land managers and public officials alike to promote the value of professional guiding.
Doug Whittaker, PhD.
How Many Is Too Many? Setting Capacities And Allocating Mountain Use.
Managers at many U.S. rivers and other backcountry areas have set visitor capacities to keep resource impacts at acceptable levels and maintain the quality of visitors’ experiences. Fewer mountain summits have such use limits, even though some alpine areas are infamous for crowding or resource or safety concerns related to use. Examining parallels between river and summit environments, the presentation will explore ways of assessing “how many climbers is too many?” as well as considerations when allocating use within guided and private sectors.
Although the history of use and traditions at different mountains will continue to require case-by-case capacity decisions, applying common concepts and a transparent decision-making process is more likely to set capacities that achieve safety and conservation purposes while gaining support in the climbing community.
Doug is an outdoor recreation planner and researcher with Confluence Research and Consulting, a two-person firm that works with federal, state, and local agencies as well as utilities and non-profits. Much of Doug’s work focuses on crowding, conflict, and capacity in recreation settings—usually on rivers—where he also studies how flows affect recreation in dam licensing, water rights, and navigability.
Blaise Agresti
A Study of Safety and Routes in an Era of Increasing Rockfall.
Can the hazards of stone fall encountered on the popular route on Mont Blanc—from the refuge of Tête Rousse to the refuge du Goûter—be understood and managed? Each year on average, three are killed and eight injured in this passage. In France, a popular point of view inside the mountain community is “mountains are a space for freedom.” On the Mont-Blanc, how to manage risks, freedom, and overpopulation on the main routes? How can we find negotiated solutions?
Colonel Blaise Agresti, a mountain guide, is in charge of the national mountain rescue school and coordinator for all the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne (PGHM). He has been instrumental in the study conducted on the Couloir de Gouter. PGHM, is a French rescue organization that centralizes alerts, organizes rescues, coordinates large scale disaster relief, and performs accident investigations. The PGHM of Chamonix works on Mont Blanc and in the Haute-Savoie region and, in 2013 alone, rescued 1831 people.
Panel: Ellen Lapham, Kenny Wallen, Dr. Mike Loso, Dr. Geoff Hill, Dr. Doug Whittaker, Dr. Carl Schmitt, Maura Longden (moderator).
Science for Summits.
Citizen scientists are a valuable and renewable resource for our mountain regions worldwide. How can we use them more effectively, and otherwise carry out more science in high places?
Ken Wallen
Perceptions of Environmental Change in High Altitude Mountain Regions of Peru (poster only)
Paul Anderson
Denali’s Backcountry Management Plan: Lessons Learned From The Challenges, Successes And Failures In Developing And Implementing A Comprehensive Management Plan.
Denali National Park and Preserve has extremes: almost 6 million acres of wilderness (2 million acres of designated Wilderness); varied ecosystems with elevations ranging from about 1,000 feet on the Yentna River to North America’s highest peak, at 20,320 feet. Developing and implementing a pioneering backcountry, climbing, and wilderness management plan was a complex task. To be successful, managers had to evaluate a diverse set of public values, often balancing tradeoffs among multiple and often competing values. The plan process developed a decision-making model that integrated social, resource, and managerial values associated with the Denali wilderness experience. This plan has been the foundation for the ongoing efforts to preserve Denali’s wilderness resources and values.
Paul Anderson was Superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve for 11 years, responsible for all park operations, including the Mountaineering Program on Mt. McKinley. Retired today, he began his 42-year career as a climbing ranger and ski patroller in Rocky Mountain National Park, and served as a backcountry ranger and search and rescue specialist in numerous parks. Paul initiated and led the multi-year effort to complete the Denali Backcountry Management Plan. The plan, which set specific objectives, standards, and indicators for backcountry and Wilderness resource conditions and visitor experience, was one of the first Backcountry Management Plans in the U.S. to use this approach.
Erik Murdock PhD and Ty Tyler
Climbing Management Plans: Concepts and Case Studies.
The exponential growth of climbing in the United States has, in part, resulted in increased consideration of climbing management plans (CMPs) for both state and federally owned public lands that contain climbing resources. The increase in climbers has focused many land managers on mitigating environmental impacts associated with climbing, but a comprehensive climbing management plan (CMP) can also address liability, fixed anchors, wildlife, cultural resources, trails, water resources, wilderness, and social issues. A holistic evaluation of the climbing system—parking, approach, bivouac, climb, descent, etc.—is just the beginning of developing an effective CMP. An honest assessment of the land manager’s, climbing community’s, and climbing resource’s current and future needs should direct the CMP contents. Less can be more. In addition, a successful CMP is based on what works given the often site-specific perceptions and behavior patterns of climbers in particular environments.
This presentation outlined the issues that need to be considered during the development of a CMP, and also provided illustrative examples of implementation directed at better climbing resource stewardship.
Erik Murdock is the Policy Director at the Access Fund. An avid climber for over two decades, Erik has an MS in Geology and a PhD in Natural Resource Studies with a minor in Environmental Psychology. He has worked for the University of Arizona, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the USDA Forest Service, and the National Park Service on issues related to the human dimension of recreation and resource management. He has especially focused on wilderness management and policy, as well as visitor flow modeling using Geographic Information Systems.
Ty Tyler is the Stewardship Director at the Access Fund. A passionate climber and outdoorsman for more than 15 years, Ty has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Natural Resource management with an emphasis on environmental tourism. He has worked for the Wintergreen Nature Foundation, West Virginia University, and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust in Seattle on projects that involve collaborative stewardship initiatives, recreational infrastructure management, design and construction, and resource management. He is particularly interested in collaborative, long term visioning for sustainable recreational access and management implementation.
Alex Van Steen
Carstenz Pyramid—a “Seven Summits” peak—Presents Challenges And Opportunities For Partnerships In Building A Sustainable Tourist Ecosystem In Remote Indonesia.
Puncak Jaya, located in Lorentz National Park, West Papua, Indonesia, is the world’s highest island peak, in the largest land-based national park in Southeast Asia. Known also as Carstenz Pyramid, it rises 4,884m (16,024′) above lush equatorial rainforests and a large gold and copper mine. Its few tropical glaciers are rapidly receding. It is also the destination of a growing and important tourist economy. In 2011, Alex launched Rainier Mountaineering’s (RMI) Carstensz Pyramid program and in doing so recognized that current commercial models for adventures in Papua were not sustainable.
Today RMI partners with indigenous Papuans to develop a solid foundation for sustainable adventure tourism, a business model that is currently unprecedented in the area. While this is extremely challenging in the face of numerous societal conditions, the Papuans have expressed a readiness for such a model. As Western tourists (mostly climbers) are travelling more frequently through their lands, the Papuans are anxious to have a role in the burgeoning opportunity.
Alex Van Steen described the struggles of building relationships, his connection with efforts there, and what RMI has done to-date in terms of social responsibility and environmental care. Since the late 1980s, Alex Van Steen has become one of RMI’s most traveled guides. When not in the field, he has responsibilities in guide development and training, human resources, and environmental management. Since 2012, he has led RMI’s effort to create a sustainable tourism industry and developed RMI’s position as the only western commercial guide service to partner with an indigenous Papuan outfitter. He has spent time with local community leaders building relationships as well as training and educating porters to work with expeditions. Additionally, Alex has spent more than a decade in community outreach and education. In Washington, he works extensively with at-risk youth as a mentor, pastor, and guardian.
Day 2 Evening Special Session
Panel Discussion: The Everest Knot
Panelists: Conrad Anker, Melissa Arnott, Dr. Markus Hallgren, John Harlin, Dawa Steven Sherpa, Mike Gauthier (moderator).
Social and economic issues have emerged at the forefront of mountain areas. What needs to be changed and does the Everest region provide a working example? Big peaks and their lower flanks inspire us to set lofty goals. Many people build their livelihoods there, and many more come for challenge and adventure. Yet across our globe the changing high elevation climate and increasing human impact now threaten this living and business model. Mount Everest, an icon—and exemplar—of these stresses, can also be our inspiration for global actions to preserve and protect the places we love to climb. The Everest Knot brought together international thought leaders and activists. They laid out ideas and actions that can result in effective adaptation to social, economic, and environmental challenges. If we succeed on Mount Everest, we can take that learning to summits worldwide.
Day 3 (23 July 2014):
Reducing User Impact
We need new research and effective, long-lasting solutions to the impact of high visitor numbers in the mountains, a common problem worldwide. This session showcased best practice and research from around the world.
Joe Arnold
Solar Dehydrating Toilets: a Case Study in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The solar dehydrating toilets on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park have been in successful operation since 1983. It is estimated that each toilet can handle up to 5,000 uses during the peak climbing season of July and August. Nearly all liquid waste is disposed of in a tray evaporator and about 50% of the solid waste weight is removed by dehydrating. The remaining waste is removed and hauled by llamas to a sewage transfer station for further treatment. The toilets were completely custom built to withstand high altitude and winter conditions, extreme winds, high ultraviolet degradation and animal damage. The key to the success of the Longs Peak solar toilet program has been a long term commitment to maintenance. Managers considering the use of this system in other locations are advised to assess the ability of maintenance workers to perform repairs in remote locations, the commitment to remove dried waste on a regular basis, and the availability of a place to dispose of dried end product before committing to this system.
Joe Arnold began his career with the National Park Service in 1975 and has worked in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. He was Park Engineer at Rocky Mountain National Park from 1981 to 2011 when he retired. He was involved in a 1982-83 US Public Health Service study that funded his design for the first generation of experimental solar dehydrating toilets on Longs Peak. Since that time the solar toilets have been upgraded and refined several times and are used in four remote locations in the Park. They have been in continuous operation for 32 years now.
Lt. Col. Manzoor Hussain
User Impacts in Pakistan’s Mountains.
Lt. Col. Manzoor Hussain is president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
Capt. John Leffel
Effectively Managing Health and Safety: The Latest on Human Waste, E. coli and Other Pathogens.
A U.S. Public Health Service Officer, John consults for the National Park Service providing guidance and expertise on all aspects of public health. He is directly responsible for ensuring compliance with regulations for drinking water and wastewater treatment for NPS units in seven Western states. Capt Leffel has extensive experience with remote systems: he spent eight years working in rural Alaskan villages, and four years training tribal operators in Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
Garry Porter
A Waste Solution for Everest: The Biogas Project.
Every year, 12,000 kg of solid human waste is carried from the base camps of Mt. Everest and surrounding peaks and dumped into unlined pits in the vicinity of Gorak Shep, elevation 17,000’. Garry and a team of volunteer engineers from the Seattle area have spent 4 years designing a biogas system to operate in the extreme environment and remote location of Gorak Shep. The design is based on utilizing an off-the-shelf biogas digester design and modifying it to function in the colder environment of Gorak Shep. There are thousands of biogas digesters functioning in Nepal, India, and China at lower elevations and warmer climates but none in the cold environment of Gorak Shep. They are used to convert human, animal, and kitchen waste into methane gas for cooking or lighting and fertilizer for crops.
Garry is the project leader for the Mt. Everest Biogas system. He is a retired Boeing Company Program manager with over 34 years of engineering/program management experience. Garry holds a MS degree in engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska.
Dr. Geoff Hill
How Remote Toilets Work (or Fail to Work) and What They Should Really be Doing.
After completing his PhD on remote site toilet systems, Geoff was hired by Harvest Power to manage one of the largest composting facilities in North America. He has developed two mechanical urine diversion systems and has a number of new toilet systems at various stages of demonstration, commissioning, and procurement. Geoff has five peer-reviewed publications on waterless toilet systems. Prior to his PhD Geoff was an aspirant mountain guide; he has a Master of Science in plant ecology, and an entrepreneurial background in biofuels.
Isabelle Czekajewski
Sanisphere’s Drytoilets Developed for Mountain Areas.
Managing human waste in mountain areas is a challenge growing with touristic and mountain sports development. Sanisphere is a French company that designs, builds, and installs drytoilets. It has worked more than 20 years on human waste management issues. Sanisphere is a leader in urine and feces management at isolated locations. Isabelle described their latest generation of diverter, which works by gravity separation of urine from liquid-solid waste coupled with vermicomposting process.
An R&D engineer, Isabelle joined Sanisphere less than a year ago after working for two French research centers in biotechnologies and chemical processes.
Dr. Michael Loso
The Trajectory and Fate of Crevassed Human Waste on Denali.
Each year, over 1,000 climbers attempt to climb Mt. McKinley via the West Buttress, located on the 77 km-long Kahiltna Glacier in Denali National Park, Alaska. Climbers here generate over two metric tons of human waste annually, the majority of which is disposed of in crevasses. Michael’s team conducted field studies, performed laboratory experiments, and simulated glacier dynamics to document the trajectory and fate of buried waste in a variety of glacial microclimates. Their results show fecal microorganisms are persistent in a glacial environment, that these pathogens pose a minor threat to human health, and that buried human waste can be expected to emerge at the glacier surface within decades. The implications of these findings for management practices are unclear. Michel discussed the pros and cons of a more intensive waste management program, including an assessment of its dollar and carbon costs.
Mike is an Associate Professor of Earth Sciences at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. He also directs APU’s Master of Science in Environmental Sciences program, and teaches their annual expeditionary Glaciology and Glacier Travel course. Mike, along with his students, researches the recent climatic history of Alaska and its impact on glaciers, glacial landscapes, and the communities that depend on them. Earlier, Mike worked as a climbing guide and ranger for the American Alpine Institute, St. Elias Alpine Guides, and Denali National Park.
Roger Robinson
Denali National Park’s Clean Climb Program.
An historical review of mountaineering education, climber management, and removal of all kinds of waste over the past 50 years. Lessons learned and the final outcome of what is working well including the Clean Mountain Can project. All climber human waste is transported safely with these unique containers. In addition, new research on vermicomposting climbers’ waste will also be discussed. Roger Robinson has been a Mountaineering Ranger with Denali National Park since 1980. He began in earnest on self-supported cleanup climbs on Denali starting in 1975. He has led Denali’s Clean Climb efforts and continues this passion to the present.
Dawa Steven Sherpa
New And Novel Ideas To Reduce Impacts On Nepal’s Peaks And Trails.
A noted climber, Dawa Steven chairs the Nepal Mountaineering Association’s Environment Protection Committee. He has led several Eco Everest Expeditions to draw attention to the impact of climate change on the Himalayas and started the successful “Cash for Trash” cleanup campaign on Everest. Dawa Steven is a Nepalese Sherpa entrepreneur who has scaled Mt. Everest twice. He graduated from Heriot-Watt University Scotland with an Honours Degree in Business Administration.
Ruben Massarelli
The Challenge of Managing Human Waste in High Altitude: a Case Study of the Aconcagua Provincial Park.
Erastus Lufungulo
Trash In – Trash Out: Waste Removal on Mount Kilimanjaro.
The summit and approaches to Africa’s highest peak are overwhelmed by thousands of people, threatening its ecological balance. Over 50,000 foreign tourists climb Mount Kilimanjaro every year, accompanied by a support staff exceeding 200,000 people. As the number of visitors grows each year, mountain facilities are increasingly strained. The Park is looking for solutions.
Erastus is the Chief Park Warden of Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania.
Mehdi Mehrnoush
A Brief Look At User Impacts in the Popular Mountains of Iran.
Alaska Section American Alpine Club
The Snowbird Hut Toilet Project: a volunteer-led experiment in solar/wind drying tests new concepts in an alpine environment. (Poster only)
Tomio Suzuki, Yutaro Anzai, Akito Matsumoto
Groundwater and soil pollution with nitrate nitrogen by land disposal of wastewater,
and a trial measure against the issues. (PPT only)