Planet Earth's summit is rapidly becoming an 'ugly' sight due to the behaviour of numerous mountaineers at Camp IV, which sits a staggering 7,900m above sea level11:46, 02 Jun 2026What should be one of the most unspoiled places on the planet is becoming a real eyesore due to human activity. Indeed, the highest altitude campsite on Mount Everest is now awash with rubbish that has been dumped and scattered by lazy mountain climbers.‌An X account dedicated to Earth's peak showcased the scene at Camp IV earlier this week, which sits at 7,900m and is the final stop-off point before Everest's summit.‌"What should be one of the most extraordinary places on the planet has, in many ways, become one of the ugliest faces of Everest's commercialisation," Everest Today slammed alongside footage recorded by climber, Angelina Angelova.‌Further describing the scene in Nepal, they continued: "Abandoned tents, empty oxygen bottles, food cans, torn gear, and other waste are scattered across the South Col, turning the world's highest campsite into a graveyard of climbing equipment. The mountain deserves better."Content cannot be displayed without consentAngelina panned her camera across the blustery Camp IV, where dozens of tents could be seen struggling against the wind, litter covering the rocky ground.‌It comes after 274 scaled Everest via Nepal in one day in May (20th) - and whilst that statistic should be celebrated as an achievement for mankind, it only added to the accumulating rubbish.Over the years, many attempts have been made to clean Camp IV the final point before Everest's infamous 'Death Zone' - but the task is extremely dangerous, particularly in blizzard conditions.Back in 2004, a number of Sherpas and Nepalese soldiers cleaned up 11 tonnes of waste from the site, and grimly retrieved four dead bodies from the mountain, one of which had been completely covered in ice.‌"The garbage left there was mostly old tents, some food packaging and gas cartridges, oxygen bottles, tent packs, and ropes used for climbing and tying up tents," group leader, Ang Babu Sherpa explained afterwards.The X post prompted hundreds to lash out at the mountaineers' behaviour. One said: "These people are sportsman looking to conquer not naturalists looking to preserve.‌"Shame on the companies and climbers who have taken advantage of the mountain and its people. There is not one reason not clean up one’s own mess. This is hubris at its peak. Shame."A second person declared: "Horrible sight. A desecration. Climbers, guides, peddlers and other pests, take every bit of your crap away with you when you leave!"A third warned: "Stop this degradation of Mother Earth! If you can afford to climb up all the way to the summit, have the big heartedness to carry back your leftover dirt. The day Mother Earth has enough of such jokers, she will teach you all a lesson you won't forget for centuries!"‌While a fourth made a proposal: "Climbers (and their porters/guides) should be legally required under a 'Mountain Code' to take down everything they took up."They should be required to have a significant financial deposit (backed by insurance) that will be retained as a pollution fine if they fail to."Article continues belowThey continued: "The collected fines to be put into a clean-up fund that pay guides/porters or other agencies to clean the mountain top down of bodies and equipment and return the mountain to a pristine state."