Climbers on Mount Everest will now have to clear up their own poo and take it back to base camp to be disposed of, authorities have announced.
The Nepalese municipality of Pasang Lhamu, which covers most of the region around Everest, the world's tallest peak, has introduced the rule as part of measures aiming to improve the environment, the BBC reports.
"Our mountains have begun to stink," Mingma Sherpa, chairman of the municipality, said.
"We are getting complaints that human stools are visible on rocks and some climbers are falling sick. This is not acceptable and erodes our image."
According to officials vast amounts of excrement have built up on Mount Everest in recent years because the extreme cold stops it from fully degrading.
Mingma Sherpa, Chairman of Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, told NDTV, "We are getting complaints that human stools are visible on rocks and some climbers are falling sick. This is not acceptable and erodes our image."
The people who want to climb the highest mountain in the world and neighbouring Mount Lhotse will need to purchase "poop bags" at the base camp. These bags will be "checked upon their return".
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