The Khumbu Climbing School - The Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation

2008 KCS group photo by Lincoln Else

Khumbu Climbing School Program Mission Statement
To increase the safety margin of Nepali climbers and high altitude workers
by encouraging responsible climbing practices in a supportive and community-based program.

See the KCS 2007 Progress Report

See the KCS 2006 Progress Report

First recipient of the KCS Mentorship Award, CJ Carter near Everest in the Khumbu Region of Nepal

Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation
2008 KCS report by CJ Carter, Khumbu Climbing School Mentorship Recipient

The opportunity to be part of the Khumbu Climbing School is in itself a gift, a granted opportunity to connect and contribute to the lives of others who live and work in the remote alpine locales of the world. As the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation (A.L.C.F.) seeks to promote sustainable, community-based humanitarian programs, the climbing school mentorship embodies the spirit of global compassion and human connectedness. Time spent with the people of the Khumbu vividly defined humanity, assisting with courses that provide direct and effective training to increase the safety margin for workers of the high alpine environment. The inherent risks of their lives and the consequence in which this has upon their families, resonated throughout the region, hearing tragic stories of families that have lost sons, fathers, and brothers working in the soaring peaks of the Himal. As I assisted with the medical and climbing courses, and equipped students for days out climbing, a sense of fulfillment abounded, what I was doing mattered. While my actions on the global perspective were seemingly small, every encounter with these people taught me great lessons of compassion, curiosity and the ability of the human spirit to live contently and passionately.

CJ Carter near the Tibetan border with Khumbu friends Panuru, Danuru and Nima Sherpa.

Many days were spent sharing climbs with students around the Khumbu after the school had concluded. Following two days of ice climbing near the Tibetan border with Panuru, Danuru and Nima Sherpa, we hiked down valley, winding through minute villages, terraced into the hillsides of the Kwangde valley. As we met a fork in the trail, I would head further down and out, towards the seemingly distant modern society and eventually Bozeman, we stopped. Making jokes and exchanging hugs, almost synchronously, the three of them presented kata scarves, silken potions of fabric enlaced with prayers that represent merit and mutual respect. I reciprocated and presented the three of them with the same, and for that moment I felt one with them. I could understand their struggles, their passion for the hills, and the inherent danger of their lives working on the peaks of the Himal. For the first time, I understood the term endless connectivity.

From this world encounter, beyond the initial fulfillment, was a sense of global responsibility for living, to contribute in your own way to the lives of those afflicted by tragedy and adverse conditions and to give back to the places that have gifted us with so much. The experiences allowed me to step outside the realm of self-fulfillment and to explore what I can do in my lifetime to enhance the lives of others, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Khumbu Climbing School Program
Mission Statement
To increase the safety margin of Nepali climbers and high
altitude workers by encouraging responsible climbing practices
in a supportive and community-based program.

With thanks to

Adventure Medical Kits - Alpinist Magazine - Anonymous - Apple Computer - Arcturus Motion Pictures - Artshoppe - Backcountry.com - Banff Mountain Film Festival - Barnard Construction - Barrel Mountaineering - Big Sky Wind Drinkers - Black Diamond - Bluewater Ropes- -Camp USA- -Charisma Productions - Climb On! - Climbing Magazine - EPIC online magazine - Fox River Mills - Grivel North America - High Performance Sports, Ltd. - International Mountain Guides - Kahtoola - Kent Mountain Adventures - Kneeland Gallery - La Sportiva - Mackenzie River Northwest - Mammut USA - Merica Design - Montana Aleworks - Montana State University - Mountain Gear - Mountain Link - Nepal Mountaineering Association - New England Ropes - Northern Lights - Omega Pacific - Osprey Packs - Outdoor Research - Outside Magazine - Patagonia - Petzl/Charlet - Prana - Rite in the Rain - Rock and Ice Magazine - Sack's of Bozeman - Sam Medical Products - Selby's - Serac Films - Snowbird Renaissance Center - Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort - Sterling Ropes - Summit Coffee - Telluride Mountain Film Festival - The Bishop Family Foundation - The Bos Foundation - The Charles J. Wylie Jr. Foundation - The Communities Foundation of Boulder County - The Communities Foundation of Texas - The Dick Bass Foundation - The J. Paul Grayson Foundation - The Mountain Institute - The North Face - The Pease Family Fund - The Schlesinger Scholarship Fund - The Snowbird Renaissance Center - The Tom Brokaw Family Foundation - Trango Climbing Gear - Timex - Vasque - Wasatch Backcountry Rescue - Wilderness Adventures Women's Adventure Magazine - Yates Gear