Originally published in Outpost Magazine

Adventure glamour spots like Mt. Everest are attracting greater numbers than ever before, meaning more waste left behind than ever before. New expeditions, with youth at the forefront, are aiming to clean up the mess.

Following the footprints of others, you move one leg at a time toward the approaching ridge line, crisp mountain air biting your face. Scanning the horizon you stop to breathe. The majestic view displays distant snow-capped peaks breaking through a sea of clouds, sun glinting off oxygen canisters discarded by previous climbers, and toilet paper blowing in the wind.

Not exactly the painting it was more than fifty years ago, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay conquered the mountain of mountains.

When Japan's Ken Noguchi summited Everest in 1999 at the age of 25, he became the youngest person to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents. Upon returning in 2000, his focus wasn't on reaching the summit, but on cleaning up the tons of garbage left behind by expedition groups. Talking to the Japan Times, he says, "It has become increasingly obvious that the nations of those people climbing Everest who methodically clean up their garbage and carry it out are invariably clean, and their people's awareness of environment issues is high. What expeditions leave behind provides a microcosm of their own countries and of their people's attitudes toward the environment."

"It's a lack of awareness," explains Geoff Green, Director and founder of the Canadian non-profit organization Students On Ice. "I think some expeditions have honorable goals but there's definitely that commercialization of climbing. So many expeditions are, lets face it, about conquest, getting to the top and down. 'Get to Everest, write a book and go on a speaking tour.' For us, it's about the environment."

Green conceived Students on Ice five years ago, after 15 years of leading scientific groups, adventurers and ecotourists into the wilderness. Seeing how profoundly changed these people were after visiting special regions of the world "we simply thought, imagine if we could give that experience to youth at the beginning of their lives, how it could define their futures." The non-profit aims to offer fresh perspectives and inspiration to youths through environmental education. The organization pairs groups of 10-15 students, aged between 15-18, with world class scientists and experts from different disciplines and teacher chaperons.

For the last four years, two two-to-four week trips have left for the Arctic and Antarctic. Each expedition has slightly different themes ranging from climate change to environmental leadership. For their fifth year, Green has added a Mt. Everest trip which includes an environmental cleanup component. "Obviously Everest is the mecca for climbers, so there's been quite an accumulation of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste at base camp. There's been a number of cleanup projects, so this isn't anything new, but what's great is that it's ongoing, and for us, that youth are involved," says Green. "It's also symbolic. If we can clean up the top of world, it can filter down."

Everest is only one of an increasing number of untouched areas are being visited by more and more travellers each year. One of the most significant increases has been in Antarctica. Over 14,000 people visited in the 1999-2000 season, up from 2,500 only ten years earlier. Cruises tapered off after 9/11, but totals are expected to return to this level in the 2003-2004 season. Some ships spend hours shuttling 1,000 tourists to and from breeding sites, thus exposing the animals to humans far longer than do smaller ships. "It's something that we've got to keep a close eye on and make sure that, as human activity in these areas increases, it's regulated. My concern is not the small expeditions that are going, but with these larger vessels," says Green. "Right now there is no way to stop them, they are governed by international laws of the sea."

For Green, the solution boils down to education with youth being ambassadors for the future. "If we can build in an environmental ethic, it will become just a natural part of youths' day-to-day lives. Education and awareness is really the key if we want to protect things. We are losing touch with the natural world. I think that is a combination of the media saturated, over-programmed consumer crazed world we live in, and youth are bombarded from all sides. But it's great to see, when you take them away from that, and you do expose them to these things - they get it. They see how the world is interconnected, they see what the priorities are, and that gives cause for hope."