The highest mountain in the world, Everest, has become a ‘sister peak’ of Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain in a joint scheme to preserve their delicate ecosystems which are becoming endangered as they experience increased visitor numbers.

It has been announced that next spring a joint clean-up operation will be undertaken, after an agreement was signed in Tokyo recently by mountaineering associations from both countries. This would also coincide with another project which will see additional trees being planted in the foothills of the Himalayas which will help to prevent the type of avalanches that killed over a dozen Sherpa guides in April this year.

Ken Noguchi has raised over £60,000 to help support the families of the sherpas through his organization, the Seven Summits Action for Sustainable Society, and this has helped to spur on this latest collaboration effort.

Japan is also studying the approach of Nepal of how they are tackling the issue of rubbish that has been left on the slopes by the increased numbers of climbers that tackle the mountain each year. As Mount Fuji was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 they are expecting to see a significant upsurge in visitors. In recent years all climbers who undertake Mt Everest must collect around 8kg (18ibs) of rubbish on their descent, and only last year the volunteers of Japan’s Fujisan Club, dressed in full kit from baselayers to boots and jackets, cleared almost 60 tonnes of refuse from the slopes of Mount Fuji, and they have done this each and every year in the last decade, so the idea of climbers collecting items on their descent is one idea worth considering.

This is an issue worldwide for mountaineers and everyone who enjoys getting out and enjoying what nature has to offer. So we all have to be aware of what we take with us, and more importantly what we bring back, so it’s always worth putting a black rubbish bag in with your gear, whether you are out walking, cycling or whatever you are doing so that you can leave an environment in the way you found it so that you can enjoy it again and again.