When Martin Volken, owner of North Bend’s Pro Guiding Service, earned his
IFMGA guiding pin back in 1996 in his native Switzerland, much of the town turned out for the ceremony including the mayor. “You are a high-altitude representative of the Swiss tourism industry,” the mayor told Volken. “I expect you to act like a professional.”
Such is the importance that Europe places on its guides.
In the United States, guiding has avoided such esteem. Nowhere is that more true than with ski guiding, which is too often viewed as anathema to American backcountry skiing’s DIY ethos, despite the fact that it can keep inexperienced skiers safer, show many backcountry skiers a far better time than they’d experience on their own, and add to even a seasoned skier’s mountain sense.
UIAA congratulates Nepali climbers on first successful winter ascent of K2 Tuesday, 19 January 2021
The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) has congratulated a team of Nepali climbers who have become the first to mount a successful ascent of K2 in winter.
The UIAA say K2 was the only one of the commonly recognised mountains over 8,000 metres which had not be successful ascended during the winter months.
K2 is the second-highest mountain in the world at 8,611 metres.
The successful expedition was led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, a certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations guide.
Nirmal Purja Pun Magar, who climbed the fourteen 8,000m peaks in a little over six months in 2019, was also among the climbers.
Shashwat Pant
December 28, 2020
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Tenji Sherpa (L) and Vinayak Jaya Malla (R)
Sitting at a cafe in Bouddha, Vinayak Jaya Malla and Tenji Sherpa are planning for one of their greatest mountaineering adventures yet. There is a hint of excitement in their eyes, also a bit of anxiousness, as they believe they have what it takes to become the first all-Nepali team to climb an 8000-metre peak in the winter.
In a bid to do that, the duo are on their way to Manaslu base camp where they will spend the next month acclimatising and training. To make things interesting, they are going to climb the eighth highest mountain in the world in the alpine style, that means no fixed camps, no fixed ropes and no bottled oxygen.