What began as a personal journey to learn yoga and explore the mountains has turned into a sustained environmental mission in Chamoli district. Gema Colell, a 30-year-old graphic designer from Spain, has been living in Uttarakhand since 2023 and is now actively engaged in cleaning the Himalayan region by manually collecting and carrying waste down from high-altitude areas.
Gema arrived in Uttarakhand in 2023 to learn yoga in Rishikesh and travel through the mountains. During her visits to Himalayan trails and peaks, she was shocked to see plastic and other non-biodegradable waste scattered from lower trekking routes to high-altitude zones. Disturbed by the situation, she decided to take responsibility herself and began a cleanup initiative instead of limiting her concern to observation.
She later connected with Manoj Rana, a mountaineer from Lohajung in Chamoli, who joined her efforts. For the past two years, Gema has been collecting garbage from remote Himalayan areas and carrying it on her back to motorable roads for proper disposal. So far, more than 300 kilograms of plastic waste have been brought down from high-altitude regions through this effort.
Based in Lohajung, Gema is also working to spread awareness among local residents about protecting the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. She warns that if unchecked dumping of waste continues, future generations may only see the Himalayas in photographs rather than in their natural form. According to her, waste accumulation in mountain regions is not just an environmental issue but a serious threat to water sources, wildlife, and local livelihoods.
Drawing a comparison with practices in her home country, Gema says that in Spain people usually carry their waste back with them, a habit she finds missing among many visitors in Uttarakhand. She believes that if trekkers and tourists take responsibility for their own waste, the mountains can largely remain clean. One of the biggest challenges, she notes, is that areas cleaned once often get polluted again within a short time.
To expand the impact of her work, Gema and Manoj Rana have formed a group called “The 108 Peak Clean, Mountain Safe Mountain.” Through this initiative, they conduct cleanup-linked mountaineering activities, allowing volunteers to participate in both trekking and waste collection. They also visit schools and villages to educate children and residents about Himalayan conservation, cleanliness, and the effects of global warming.
Their cleanup drives have covered several prominent locations, including Auli, Bedni Bugyal, Chandrashila, Lord Curzon Trail, Dharmavali, and surrounding peaks near Lohajung. Gema has also successfully undertaken high-altitude expeditions, including peaks like Trishul and Mukut Parvat, reinforcing her commitment to combining mountaineering with environmental responsibility.
