00:00Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth, ushering in hundreds of adventurers to try
00:08their hand at the summit every year. However, that means that the face of the mountain has
00:13become covered with garbage, but perhaps maybe not for long. According to Insider,
00:17climbers have left a staggering 50 metric tons of trash on the slopes of the mountain,
00:21which is why Nepal now plans to deploy an army of trash-carrying drones to fly up there and
00:27bring the garbage down. They're referring to them as heavy lifter drones, and they're able to fly
00:31to high altitudes where they can then be loaded up with refuse. Test flights were already completed
00:36back in April, with just one drone being able to remove some 500 pounds of trash in an hour.
00:41With the Kathmandu Post reporting, that would have taken a dozen Sherpas around six hours.
00:46Not to mention, it is much more dangerous for the local travel guides and mountain stewards,
00:51and that's a particular concern in the Khumbu Icefall, a 1.6-mile stretch of ice just above
00:56Everest Base Camp, one that is constantly sliding down the mountain at a rate of around three to
01:01four feet a day. In fact, just last year, three Sherpas died in an avalanche in that very section,
01:06meaning these drones could clean the mountain's face, all while saving lives.
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