Human waste left by climbers on Mount Everest has become a problem that is causing pollution and threatening to spread disease on the world 's highest peak . The more than 700 climbers and guides who spend nearly two months on Everest 's slopes each climbing season leave large amounts of faeces and urine , and the issue has not been addressed , the chief of Nepal 's mountaineering association , Ang Tshering , told reporters on Tuesday . 'Climbers usually dig holes in the snow for their toilet use and leave the human waste there , ' Tshering said , adding that the waste has been 'piling up ' for years around the four camps . Scroll down for video . Human waste left by climbers on Mount Everest has become a problem that is causing pollution and threatening to spread disease on the world 's highest peak , chief of Nepal 's mountaineering association said . He said Nepal 's government needs to get the climbers to dispose of the waste properly so the mountain remains pristine . Hundreds of foreign climbers attempt to scale Everest during Nepal 's mountaineering season , which began this week and runs through May . Last year 's season was canceled after 16 local guides were killed in an avalanche in April . Climbers spend weeks acclimatizing around the four camps set up between the base camp at 5,300 meters ( 17,380 feet ) and the 8,850-meter-high ( 29,035-foot-high ) summit . The camps have tents and some essential equipment and supplies , but do not have toilets . At the base camp , where there are more porters , cooks and support staff during the climbing season , there are toilet tents with drums to store the waste . Once filled , the drums are carried to a lower area , where the waste is properly disposed . Hundreds of foreign climbers attempt to scale Everest during Nepal 's mountaineering season , which began this week and runs through May . Dawa Steven Sherpa , who has been leading Everest cleanup expeditions since 2008 , said some climbers carry disposable travel toilet bags to use in the higher camps . 'It is a health hazard and the issue needs to be addressed , ' he said . Nepal 's government has not come up with a plan yet to tackle the issue of human waste . But starting this season , officials stationed at the base camp will strictly monitor garbage on the mountain , said Puspa Raj Katuwal , the head of the government 's Mountaineering Department . The government imposed new rules last year requiring each climber to bring down to the base camp eight kilograms ( 18 pounds ) of rubbish — the amount it estimates a climber discards along the route . Climbing teams must leave a $ 4,000 ( £2600 ) deposit that they lose if they do n't comply with the regulations , Katuwal said . More than 4,000 climbers have scaled Mount Everest since 1953 , when it was first conquered by New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide , Tenzing Norgay . Hundreds of others have died in the attempt , while many have succeeded only with help from oxygen tanks , equipment porters and Sherpa guides .
four climbers and guides spend two months on Everest each year . Their toilets are usually holes in the snow , a Nepalese official said . He said that the waste has been 'piling up ' for years around various camps .