KATHMANDU: Seven Summit Treks (SST), a leading Kathmandu-based trekking and expedition company, has mobilised a team of experienced climbing guides to support search and rescue operations in the flood-affected areas of Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.

SST Chairman Mingma Sherpa said 12 mountain guides working for the company left for the disaster-hit region to assist in the search and rescue mission. The guides have been sent on a week-long reconnaissance and search operation in the high hills and forested areas affected by the Bhotekoshi flood, he said.

According to Mingma, the team was fully briefed and equipped with necessary logistics, gear, and an exploration strategy before departing by helicopter. Their main objective is to search for any remaining living stranded individuals in the remote and difficult terrain. More than 5000 are still missing following the August 26 floods.

“This mission is jointly supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Many South Korean nationals were among those affected by the disaster, and we stand with their families and their government in the effort to locate or recover their citizens,” Mingma said.

SST said it remains ready to assist government-led rescue and recovery operations with its qualified guides and mountaineers whenever called upon. Mingma has also coordinated hundreds of aerial search and rescue missions by Heli Everest in the aftermath of the devastating flood.

The company said it has been involved in social and humanitarian initiatives for more than a decade, including disaster response, flood relief, healthcare, education, and COVID-19 relief activities.

Chhang Dawa Sherpa, co-owner of SST, said the company has long been engaged in social services as part of its corporate responsibility towards the community. “From the 2015 earthquake to the COVID-19 pandemic, SST has reached out to thousands of needy people with relief materials,” he said.

SST is itself as Nepal’s largest taxpayer adventure company and is known for prompt and affordable services to the global adventure-seeking community. It was established by four record-holding mountaineer brothers: Mingma, Chhang Dawa, Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, and Pasang Phurba Sherpa. The company has a network of experienced professionals across Nepal, China, and Pakistan.

Mingma is the first Nepali and the first South Asian to successfully climb all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters. Chhang Dawa is the second Nepali to summit all 14 8,000-meter peaks and is the youngest person to achieve the feat, completing it at the age of 30. Mingma and Chhang Dawa also hold the record as the “World’s First Two Brothers” to summit all 14 mountains above 8,000 meters.

Tashi Lakpa holds a Guinness World Record as the youngest climber to scale Mt. Everest without supplementary oxygen, at the age of 20. Pasang Phurba, who climbed Everest in 2022, plays a key role in managing SST expeditions every season.