This Is Why We Can’t Climb Nice Things

On July 22 this year, 145 people summited K2 in one day. So far, at least 200 people have reached the top in 2022. Until this year, only about 300 people had ever climbed the peak. From 300 ever to half that in one day is mind-blowing.

There are all sorts of thorny issues and tough questions to tackle when it comes to how many people can and should climb a mountain like K2, once considered too difficult for all but the absolute cream of the cream of the crop. But one issue isn’t debatable at all and it’s the amount of shit climbers are leaving behind on the mountain. Literally, in the form of actual human shit, but also metaphorically, in the form of abandoned gear and other pieces of garbage that for some reason, some climbers consider perfectly acceptable.

It’s not.

You would think the world’s second highest peak, one that is climbed only with terrific difficulty, would be free from the detritus of assholes but you’d be wrong. Check this out:

No. Just, no.