Mount McKinley. 20,320 feet high. The tallest mountain in the US, in remote, frozen Alaska.

Over the last 20 years, the number of climbers on the mountain has doubled. 1300 people are expected to go during its busy season this summer. Most take the same route.

Climbers used to just toss their trash and expect it to remain buried in the permafrost, but now the trash problem on McKinley has reached such proportions that all climbers are expected to bring back more than they take. And they're expected to pack out all their waste, not just their supplies and packages.

So the park rangers have come up with these cans, called "clean mountain cans" by the forest service. The intention is that climbers will carry their feces off the mountain in these cans.

I imagine the next step is public service announcements. A possible catch-phrase: "Give a shit, don't leave a shit."

imagine all the snow melts? dang that'd be a stinky mountain.

in the winter its bad enough when people walk their dogs in the park and they crap and piss everywhere... but then the first melt happens and the stench of evil rises to confront unwary passerbys.

i like the slogan.

i was there just a few days ago. its the park ranger's station in talkeetna, alaska. talkeetna is just outside of denali nat'l park, where mt mckinely is.


thats like deja vu man

That's pretty wild! Why were you there, camping?

nah. i was in talkeetna for a sightseeing trip around mt mckinely in an airplane. it was pretty cool. its a really small town. it has a dirt runway and a paved one for business but there is only one street.