KATHMANDU: The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) today bade farewell to its training-cum-expedition teams heading to Lhayul and Api Base Camp in Darchula, with high-level government officials attending the send-off ceremony.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) Badri Prasad Pandey, accompanied by Secretary Hari Prasad Mainali, Department of Tourism Director General Dr. Narayan Prasad Regmi, and Civil Aviation Authority Director General Pradeep Adhikari, formally flagged off the NMA team at the association’s Secretariat in Nagpokhari, Naxal. Senior NMA officials, including President-elect Ful Gyalje Sherpa, Senior Vice President Thakur Raj Pandey, General Secretary Mohan Lamsal, General Secretary-elect Rajendra Bahadur Lama, and Secretary Dhan Bahadur Gurung, were also present.

The training team, consisting of 14 students and six instructors, will conduct the field segment of the Summer Skill Course for Professional Mountain Guide (PMG) Training at Lhayul Peak (6,397m). Simultaneously, NMA instructors will conduct Mountain Navigation and Camping Management Training from 12–18 September 2025, exclusively for individuals from the Api Himal region who have completed Trekking Guide Training.

Following the training, six instructors and seven students from the Summer Skill Course will attempt an expedition to Api Himal (7,132m), a pristine peak in Nepal’s far-western region with minimal prior expedition records.

Minister Pandey described the program as a historic milestone for mountaineering in far-western Nepal. “Mountaineering is often associated with the Sherpa community, but participation from other communities is steadily growing. This training-cum-expedition will further contribute to that growth,” he said. “As someone from the far-west, I warmly welcome the team and wish them success.”

The initiative is financially supported by the Sustainable Tourism Project, a joint program of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The recent NMA elections saw tourism entrepreneur Phurba Gyalje Sherpa elected as President, with Iswari Paudel as Senior Vice President and Rajendra Bahadur Lama as General Secretary.