In September 2023, the “Component III” mountain guide course for aspiring guides in Nepal came to an end. This three-week course forms part of the mountain guide training programme of the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) and is offered annually by the Nepal National Mountain Guides Association (NNMGA).

The Swiss Sherpa Foundation supports this training programme in partnership with the IFMGA.

End of April 2023 we visited this climbing school and were able to convince ourselves that this project makes a valuable contribution to the preservation of nature and the promotion of children and young people. They learn not only climbing, but also how to behave in nature and in the mountains and how to organize trekkings with care for nature.

In March 2022, we were once again able to launch a training programme in Argentina for two young women. Each of them spent six months in Salta, where they received training in English, marketing, information technology, mountain rescue, and trekking. Pancho supervised Belén and Verónica and was very pleased with their dedication and progress.

One of the two young women works at the tourism office in San Antonio de los Cobres and hopes to organise and lead her own trekking tours in the region in the future.