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Safety & responsibility
Safe journeys, light footprints
How we look after our travelers, our team, and the mountains we work in.
Safety
Safety comes first
The mountains reward patience. Every itinerary is built around safe acclimatization, a team that knows the route, and a plan for when things don't go to plan.
- Planned for altitude
- Acclimatization days at the right heights, and a pace set for the group, not the fastest walker. Climb high, sleep low.
- Checked every day
- Your guide asks how you are feeling each morning and evening and watches for the signs of altitude sickness. If symptoms get worse, we go down.
- An experienced team
- Our guides have spent years on these trails, and our climbing Sherpas include multiple Everest summiteers.
- Ready for emergencies
- First-aid kits on every trip, regular contact with our Kathmandu office, and helicopter evacuation arranged with your insurer if it is ever needed.
- Led by the conditions
- We watch the weather and the trail, and we change plans when the mountain says so. A pass or a summit can wait for another day.
- Insured for the mountains
- We ask every traveler to have insurance that covers trekking or climbing at their altitude, including helicopter evacuation.
Environment & communities
Caring for the mountains and the people who live there
These valleys are our home, and many of them are sacred. We want them to stay as beautiful for the next traveler, and for the families who live in them.
- Leave no trace
- What we carry in, we carry out. Our camp crews leave campsites as clean as they found them, or cleaner.
- Less plastic
- We encourage refillable bottles and water purification instead of buying plastic bottles along the trail.
- Clean mountains
- Nepal requires expedition teams to bring their trash back down from the big peaks, and in the Khumbu even human waste. Our expedition crews follow these rules.
- Porters treated fairly
- Our porters are part of the team: fair wages, proper clothing and boots for the altitude, insurance, food and shelter, and loads they can carry safely.
- Money that stays local
- We stay in family-run teahouses, work with guides, cooks and porters from mountain communities, and buy food locally.
- Respect for culture
- We walk to the left of mani walls and chortens, ask before taking photos, and begin climbs with a puja, as the mountains' traditions ask.
Questions about safety?
Ask us anything about altitude, fitness, insurance or how we run a specific trip. Jangbu or Pasang will answer personally.
Plan a journey with us
Tell us where you'd like to go and we'll design a safe, unforgettable trip around you.