Still glacial lake reflecting snow-dusted cliffs

The team

The people behind the routes

No call center, no seasonal roster of strangers — the person who plans your trek and the person who leads it work out of the same Thamel office.

Leadership

Both started on the trail, not behind a desk — which is why the desk still answers like a guide.

  • Founder & Managing Director

    Kumar ADK

    Govt.-licensed trekking guide since 2004; TAAN executive committee member.

    Kumar guided the Annapurna and Everest trails for seven seasons before founding the company in 2011. He still walks one route unannounced every season to check that the standard he set is the standard you get.

  • Operations Manager

    Sunita Grg

    Twelve years of Himalayan logistics — permits, flights and contingency planning.

    Sunita turns itineraries into permits, seats and beds, and re-routes them within hours when Lukla weather has other ideas. If your trip bent without breaking, that was her.

On the trail

Senior guides

The five seniors below lead departures and train the wider team of 28 licensed guides we retain year-round. Every one of them is government-licensed and holds current wilderness first-aid certification.

  • Senior Guide, Everest region

    Mingma Dorje Sherpa

    NMA-certified climbing guide; Wilderness First Responder.

    Born in the Khumbu, Mingma has crossed the region's three high passes more than sixty times and leads our Island and Mera Peak climbs. Guests remember his weather calls; we value that they never have to.

  • Senior Guide, climbing programmes

    Tashi Norbu Sherpa

    IFMGA-certified mountain guide; NMA course instructor.

    One of the small circle of IFMGA guides in Nepal, Tashi leads our peak-climbing programmes and runs the winter rope-work refresher that every guide on the team must pass.

  • Senior Guide, Annapurna & Langtang

    Kalpana Rai

    Govt.-licensed trekking guide; Wilderness First Responder since 2019.

    Kalpana joined as an apprentice in 2013 and now leads our women-led departures. She is the guide we assign to first-timers nervous about altitude — nobody paces a first 4,000-metre day better.

  • Senior Guide, restricted regions

    Bikash Tamang

    Licensed for Manaslu, Mustang and Upper Dolpo restricted-area operations.

    Langtang-born, Bikash handles the permit-heavy far west and the quiet routes where a wrong turn costs a day. He carries the paperwork so you can forget it exists.

  • Senior Guide, high passes

    Pemba Gyalzen Sherpa

    NMA-certified; wilderness first aid and avalanche-awareness trained.

    Forty-plus crossings of the Three Passes and counting. Pemba is the guide our repeat guests request by name — which is why booking early matters.

In Kathmandu

The office crew

The people who answer your emails, issue your permits and hold the evacuation phone while you walk.

  • Trip Coordinator

    Anish Shrestha

    Five seasons on the trail before moving to planning; first reply on most inquiries.

    Anish reads your inquiry, asks the questions a brochure can't, and drafts the first version of your itinerary. If you have emailed us, you have probably met him.

  • Accounts & Permits

    Deepa Maharjan

    Every permit, TIMS card and refund the company issues crosses her desk.

    Deepa keeps the books straight and the briefing folders ready. Guests meet her once, at the office; everything that ran smoothly before that was largely her doing.

Meet us on the trail

Your guide is already here

Tell us your dates and ambitions — the planner who replies has walked the routes, and the guide who leads you is on this page.