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sirdar Bal Bahadur Lopchan
Guide Bal Bahadur Lopchan
Bire Tamang trek guide and cook
Guide Bire Tamang
Project Himalaya
Lobsang Chomphel, star organizer
Organizer Lobsang Chomphel
Ram Lal, sensitive horsman
horseman Ram Lal
Stanzin Kungha, helper
helper Stanzin Kungha

 

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Thank you for donating to assist our staff

We are directly assisting our loyal core staff and welcome your contribution

There will be no trekking work for 2020 and so Jamie is personally ensuring core staff are supported so that they can survive this epic upheaval. All money donated will go to our Nepal and India staff, charges paid by me. Followers and previous trekkers of Project Himalaya have raised $11k+, an amount of support that stuns me - thank you!

USD500 from Lars A

USD250 from Roger Nix

USD100 from Jan Sz

USD100 + 100 from Alan Kerr

USD600 from M.

USD250 from Jim Robinson

USD300 + 300 from Fred M

USD100 +150 from Mike Parle

USD250 from Denio Moreira Carvalho junior

USD200 from Celesta

USD80 from Jane & Glenn Fisher

USD130 from Phil Whitwell

USD200 from Gaye Kittel

USD250 from Carsten Nebel

USD300 from Max Sadler

USD500 from Bruce Utsey

USD500 from Jim Twiss

EUR220 (USD250) from Barbara and Harald

USD200 from anon

USD300 + 500 from Greg Weston

USD200 from Mike Farris

USD20 from Lynda Behan

USD30 from Matthew Ingram

USD40 from Clare Robertson

USD50 from Louise Dunlop

USD200 from Peter Sih

USD300 from Ralph Oertel

USD150 from Anselm Murphy

USD200 from Martin Rhodes-Schofield

USD200 from Guido Zijlma

USD250 from Leeann I-S

USD250 from Jonathon Cupka

USD500 from Peter Wood

NZD200/USD135 from Mark & Kate Sanders

USD200 from David Wright

USD200 from Paul Murrill in process

USD250 from Tracey Steelhammer

USD1000 from Greg Danforth

USD500 from anon

USD300 from Jim Morrow and friends

USD100 from Herman Kromhout

USD100 from Bill Rowntree

Major thanks!

Money donated so far:

Separate from the above, USD750 donated by Jamie & Esther and already given to Pemba and family

USD993 to Lobsang

USD993 to Ram Lal

USD989 to Bali

USD700 to Bire Tamang

USD600 to Angchuk

USD999 to Stanzin Kungha

USD700 to Raj Kumar

USD500 to Aiteram Lopchan

USD500 to Dawa (Da Gelje) Sherpa

USD433 to Mingmar Sherpa who is now a father!

USD434 to Bire Tamang and family

USD686 for Lobsang

USD686 for Ram Lal

USD435 for Sanjaya Tamang

USD434 for Bali

USD??? for Tashi Tamang - happening soon

I am in the process of a winter distribution. This period in particular is when work opportunities dwindle and bills mount.

Mingmar and his November surprise.

Lobsang and Yangzom light butter lamps for everyone as a thank you for your kindness.

My position

I must declare my own position first. Project Himalaya is small and unique. Unlike most other trekking companies, I don't pay myself a wage, I am not collecting a salary etc while soliciting donations.

I have always run our treks as a "lifestyle business". While living in Nepal (for 25+ years) I could not justify earning many multiples of what we paid our staff and photos sold mostly paid for my camera systems. I am now in New Zealand and pay taxes and cannot claim any welfare benefit of any sort, unemployment or covid-19 small business assistance, so no "free" money. My position is ok as I have a generous partner and my parents died in the last year.

 

To donate, please click the secure button below which will take you to PayPal

 

 

(Donate in your currency if you want, I will sort out, and if there are any issues, please contact me directly!)

Our India staff

Our staff have always been able to get an interest-free loan from me but this time more than a loan might be needed.

Lobsang Chomphel

Lobsang is the mainstay of our operation in India and has been working with Project Himalaya in Ladakh since the beginning with Joel and myself

Lobsang

Lobsang (and Raj on the left, who since 2018 has had a restaurant in Manali)

 

Ram Lal

Ram Lal has also been working with us more or less from our beginning in Ladakh, his tough horse-mule team and astute leadership enabling us to take the wildest, most remote trails.

Ram Lal, 2017

Ram Lal

Angchuk Dorje

Cheerful, patient, kind and always early, Angchuk is the best driver, both sightseeing and driving us to and from treks.

Pasang, Angchuk and Lobsang, 2013

2013: Pasang (Angchuk's brother, also a driver), Angchuk and Lobsang

Stanzin Kungha

From Kargyak in Zanskar, Stanzin has been working for us since 2016 and wants to become a guide; he has been an able helper so far and has climbed Dzo Jongo a couple of times too. He is back on the farm in his home village of Kargyak during these coronavirus times (although came to Leh with a sick family member so I donated more than I initially planned).

Stanzin Kungha, 2019

Stanzin Kungha

Raj

Thank you, Raj! Raj cheerfully cooked for our tough treks for as long as he could but health issues slowed him so he set up a small restaurant in Manali. Although he wouldn't say, times are tough and I'm glad to offer some small assistance.

Raj - 2017

Raj in Zanskar

Our Nepal staff

In Nepal, we work with Expedition Himalaya who share work around the staff, so there are multiple overseas companies who employ them and can assist. Therefore the people that have almost exclusively worked for Project Himalaya are the ones without other possible safety nets, and so our support will go to Bali and Bire first.

Having said that, the amount collected was well in excess of what I expected and I will distribute more widely.

Bali (Bal Bahadur) Lopchan

Bali (Bal Bahadur) Lopchan is the guide-sirdar on our toughest treks, ie all of them!

Jamie and Bali at the end of our epic 2015 GHT Wild West trek

 

Bire (Bir Bahadur) Tamang

Bire (Bir Bahadur) Tamang is a trek guide and sometimes cook for our tough camping treks and in 2019, cook for our National Geographic Everest expedition.

Bire with our 2010 Saribung team

From a long time a go, Bire with our awesome Mustang and Saribung Wild team

 

Dawa Da'Gelje Sherpa

Although often cook on our longer, tough Nepal treks, Dawa has climbed Everest three times and also cooked at Everest ABC including for our 2019 National Geographic Everest expedition.

Bire with our 2010 Saribung team

2012: Dawa summits Everest for the third time, a variation of this photo was used for the cover of the magazine Action Asia

 

Aiteram Lopchan

When the going gets tough, Aiteram rises to the occasion and has carried heavy loads to get us through those sometimes overweight first few days. In more normal times, as a general hand, he helps with the tents and serves meals with an emphasis on shared work, shall we say :)

Bire with our 2010 Saribung team

2018: we visited Bali, Aiteram and our porter crew's village, here in Aiteram's house with soft dirt floor and simple living but with beer so perhaps life is comfortable enough?

 

Recent previous treks | 2018
2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2002-03 | 2000-01 | pre-2000

2011-2015 expeditions | 2000-2010 expeditions | 2004-2010 expedition dispatches

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