CLIMB AND PUNISHMENT

Iconic Mountain Trail Cracks Down on Hikers Over Gross Issue

New rules aim to stop people from turning a scenic tour into a stomach-turning walk.

Officials have had enough of hikers defecating along a scenic mountain trail that leads from France into Italy and Switzerland. New rules for the route, proposed this week, would prohibit walkers from setting out to conquer Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s tallest mountain, unless they can show they’ve booked accommodation where they can relieve themselves, rather than in the wild. The proposals come as the number of people walking the 170km trail rocketed from 60,000 in 2022 to roughly 90,000 this summer alone. That increase has brought a slew of social media clips revealing the sheer amount of trash those hikers left behind. In one clip, a woman brandishes a bundle of soiled wet wipes as she laments finding “an astronomical amount of poo, toilet paper, and especially wipes.” Another shows mounds of trash crammed into a can at a refuge stop along the way. “I’m really disappointed and disgusted,” the person filming says. “Who do you think is going to take your trash in this place? No one.”