I dont think the debate is over whether you have to leave the garbage to do this hike; I think the argument is that because you HAVE to do that, this expedition should either be closed or more highly regulated. The amount of trash and bodies will just slowly accumulate, and it’s weird in today’s world of high tech gear to even claim summiting as a badge of honor. Sure it’s cool… but you have nothing on the folks that did it with limited knowledge and questionable gear in the early days.

Id like to sneak in and offer an opposing argument here. I see what you are saying, but imagine if someone said poachers in Africa depend on the revenue from selling illegal wildlife goods. The idea is that even if its a reality now, it really isn’t a good one, and if they COULD work away from it, it’d likely be better overall.