I think every body agrees that we should take care of the mountains. Of course the best way would be to not go there at all, close 7summits.com and all other operators and leave the mountains in peace.
But that is not realistic, so we should find the best possible way to save some planet for our children.
Kili is being visited by almost 20,000 people a year for about a week each. That is a lot of waste...
To get back to the original question: please use the longdrops and do not go spoiling the place by choosing a rock. It might be better smelling, but it is better to concentrate the waste in a few spots so that at least the rest of the tracks are clean. And do not leave 'white mans' prayer flags' as they call the numerous pieces of toilet paper floating around in Nepal.
If you use the longdrops, you can leave the paper there. If you have to go somewhere else, you can pack the paper with you in a ziplock or something. Trash should be taken off the mountain.
Where does Kiliwarrior empty their Clean Mountain Cans? These were designed for cold mountains like Denali and will be quite smelly on warmer mountains. They say they deposit the waste elsewhere, but where? And is that better than concentrating it in one spot or is it just another sales trick as their customers might be better off, but at a cost for the mountain?
Human waste should not be a problem in the forest zone as it will just decompose. (without toilet paper of course). But higher up the problem is serious. In the end the are all responsible for handling the situation as best as possible. For now this means using the toilets that are available. In the high zones there is little rain, the toilets are not near the major flows. So unless we can find a way to take down everything, use the toilets and question everybody that charges extra to have your waste dumped elsewhere.
Also do not forget that for every tourist there are 2-4 porters, guides etc. It is very easy to say from our desks that they all have to carry theri waste down and ours as well, but that is not realistiic.
Do not get me wrong, I am not pessimistic but realistic. Things need to change, but care must be taken not to fall in simple marketing tricks and we must be aware of the local issues.
All input welcome
