Yep. You’re not reading it wrong. These glaciers when they have melted will release human poop. And tons of it. Around sixty-six tons of it. Because of global warming.
From Smithsonian:
… On average, climbers spend 16 to 18 days on the mountain, acclimating at lower elevations and ferrying gear up to progressively higher camps before attempting the summit. All those people spending all that time on the mountain means lots of poop, about two tons per year.
In the past, people would throw their wastes into pits or deep ice crevasses, in hopes that their waste would be naturally eliminated. Unfortunately, according to glaciologist Michael Loso, that is not the case. He states that “the poo does not get ground up, but flows down the glacier and eventually pops up to the surface at lower elevations, where it can contaminate streams, rivers and lakes.”
“The waste will emerge at the surface not very different from when it was buried. It will be smushed and have been frozen and be really wet,”...“It will be biologically active, so the E. coli that was in the waste when it was buried will be alive and well. We expect it to still smell bad and look bad.”
The effects of global warming are rampant, not just in Denali, the highest mountain in Alaska, but also in Mount Everest in Nepal.
Head now to this foul-smelling revelation at Smithsonian.
Image Credit: National Park Service / Smithsonian