Increase safety and incomes for Nepal climbers

Things are shaping up for a very good crew in the Khumbu this year. We have Dr. Luanne Freer on board for our medical class. She is an ER doc here in Bozeman and has been running the Everest ER for the past four years at the southside base-camp. She has her own non-profit to do so. She is a dynamic person who loves the Khumbu and its people.

We have a great bunch of guides with Adam Knoff as the climbing class director- his fourth year with the KCS program and lots of guiding/teaching experience all over the world under his belt. Pete Athans (6 times to the top of Everest) is attending and he and Luanne will lead a seminar on Leadership Skills for our most experienced Everest climbers. It will be a roundtable discussion about scenarios that occur on Everest, what is the role of the Sherpa and how is it evolving? I am excited to hear what the Sherpa climbers have to say.

We will also include a business skills discussion about how they can advocate for better pay and work to start their own profitable guide companies. The English program is evolving with Lila Bishop joining us again as director and Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa as co-director. We will film a simple English video this year to distribute as we have the other how-to films with Karl Swingle again doing the filming. We will have six Sherpa or Nepali instructors for English classes this year and integrate lessons into the day at the climbs. Liesl Clark and her husband Pete Athans are also spearheading a project to establish a library at Kumjung, near Phortse. They have already collected books from herein the U.S. and will also get books in Nepal to launch a library for the people of the Khumbu including a childrens library. I see this as an opportunity to encourage adult ed and more opportunities to study English for all ages.

Warm Regards,

Jennifer Lowe Anker President Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation