Asian Trekking

Asian Trekking is a Nepal-based adventure-travel and mountaineering-services company specializing in Himalayan trekking, climbing expeditions, expedition logistics, and support for international mountaineers. Founded in 1982 by Ang Tshering Sherpa, it is described in reference material as Nepal's oldest mountaineering and trekking company still in operation. The business developed during a period when establishing new enterprises in Nepal was difficult and often dependent on connections to the royal palace or senior government officials. Tshering entered the sector after learning that an already registered trekking company was available for purchase, effectively creating the operating platform that became Asian Trekking. The company initially organized treks on mountains such as Dhaulagiri. After approximately two years of operations, it arranged its first Mount Everest expedition and subsequently organized Everest treks or expeditions on an annual basis. In 1996, Asian Trekking became the first trekking company in Nepal to launch a website, an early indication of its effort to reach international clients directly. Its business has since covered both the Nepal and Tibet sides of the Everest region, as well as other major Himalayan objectives including Lhotse, Makalu, Shishapangma, and numerous lower-altitude trekking destinations. Asian Trekking's services extend beyond selling conventional holiday itineraries. Depending on the expedition, the company can provide route planning, permits and administrative coordination, base-camp operations, high-altitude logistics, climbing personnel, equipment support, transportation, accommodation, food, communications, and other forms of expedition infrastructure. The company also supports independent or semi-independent climbers who may purchase only selected services rather than a fully guided ascent. Reference material attributes 889 mountaineering expeditions in Nepal and Tibet to the company, including 284 on Mount Everest, although the applicable reporting period and methodology are not specified here. The company has been associated with a number of notable Himalayan achievements. Its supported or guided clients have included the oldest woman to reach the summit of Everest, the first blind Asian man to summit Everest, and climbers involved in a double Everest summit in one season using routes from Nepal and Tibet. Asian Trekking is also associated with first ascents of Mt. Burke Khang and Dragmarpo Ri. Its expedition portfolio has included commercial Everest programs, seven-summit projects, national and international teams, and attempts on several 8,000-meter peaks. Environmental conservation and sustainable tourism are important parts of the brand's public positioning. Asian Trekking has organized repeated Eco Everest Expeditions and has claimed responsibility for removing more than 25,000 kilograms of waste from Mount Everest's slopes. During the COVID-19 period, it partnered with Swiss luxury brand Bally in an effort to clean the base camps of Nepal's 8,000-meter peaks. The company has also supported initiatives intended to benefit local communities and reduce the environmental burden of Himalayan tourism. Asian Trekking's reputation has nevertheless been affected by the 2006 death of British climber David Sharp near Everest's summit. Sharp had hired the company for base-camp support rather than a fully guided expedition. His death became part of a wider debate about commercial climbing, low-cost expedition models, the duties of climbers toward people in distress at extreme altitude, and the practical limits of rescue near the summit. The controversy concerned the broader climbing community and the conduct of climbers from multiple expeditions, rather than establishing that Asian Trekking personnel caused the death. The company continues to operate as an expedition and trekking-services provider, with its identity centered on Himalayan access, Sherpa expertise, expedition lo…

Asian Trekking was established in Nepal in 1982 by Ang Tshering Sherpa. The company's creation took place in a restrictive business environment in which newly registered enterprises were reportedly difficult for ordinary entrepreneurs to establish. Tshering learned from an expedition cook that an existing trekking company was available for sale, allowing him to acquire the basis for a new operation without following the more difficult route of obtaining a completely new registration. The company spent its early years organizing treks in the Himalayan region, including routes around Dhaulagiri. After roughly two years, it moved into Mount Everest expedition organization. Everest became a recurring part of the company's business, and Asian Trekking subsequently organized Everest treks or expeditions each year. Over time, its activities expanded from conventional trekking arrangements to more complex expedition services involving permits, route planning, camps, guides, transportation, equipment, food, communications, and high-altitude logistical coordination. In 1996, Asian Trekking became the first trekking company in Nepal to establish a website. This gave the company an early digital presence in an increasingly international adventure-travel market. It later supported expeditions on both the northern and southern approaches to Everest, as well as programs on Lhotse, Makalu, Shishapangma, and other Himalayan peaks. The company has worked with individual climbers, national teams, international commercial groups, and expedition organizers seeking logistical support rather than a single standardized tour product. Asian Trekking's record includes support for several notable climbing achievements. Reference material links the company to expeditions involving the oldest woman to reach Everest's summit, the first blind Asian man to summit the mountain, and the first double summit of Everest in one season from Nepal and Tibet. It is also associated with the first ascents of Mt. Burke Khang and Dragmarpo Ri. A Himalayan Database-based figure cited in the reference material credits Asian Trekking with organizing 889 mountaineering expeditions in Nepal and Tibet, including 284 on Everest; the source excerpt does not specify the complete time frame for those totals. Environmental work became a prominent part of the company's public identity through its Eco Everest Expeditions and mountain-waste collection programs. Asian Trekking has reported removing more than 25,000 kilograms of garbage from Mount Everest. In the COVID-19 pandemic period, it worked with Bally on a proposed cleanup of base camps on Nepal's 8,000-meter peaks. These activities positioned the company not only as a commercial expedition operator but also as a participant in debates about sustainable tourism, waste management, and the relationship between mountaineering and fragile mountain communities. The company's history also includes controversy. In 2006, client David Sharp died near the summit of Everest. Sharp had engaged Asian Trekking for base-camp support only and was not climbing as part of a fully guided Asian Trekking team. Other climbers encountered him or observed his condition, and the incident generated a major ethical debate about whether summit attempts should have been abandoned to provide assistance. Critics, including Edmund Hillary, argued that saving a life should take priority over reaching the summit, while others emphasized the danger and rescue limitations at approximately 8,500 meters. The incident also raised questions about low-cost support arrangements and the distinction between base-camp logistics and guided climbing responsibility. In 2008, Ang Tshering Sherpa's son, Dawa Steven Sherpa, assumed leadership. Dawa has been described as an environmentalist and mountaineer, and the leadership transition reinforced the company's emphasis on conservation alongside expedition operations. In 2015, Asian Trekking helped injured people at its camps after the Everest avalanche, together with Himex. The company remains an active Nepal-based provider of trekking, mountaineering, and Himalayan expedition-support services.

1. 2015Post-avalanche assistance

   The company and Himex help injured people at their camps after the Mount Everest avalanche.

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2. 2009Expansion of supported expedition portfolio

   Asian Trekking organizes or supports multiple Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu programs for international and national teams.

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3. 2008Dawa Steven Sherpa assumes leadership

   Dawa Steven Sherpa, the founder's son, takes over leadership of the company.

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4. 2006David Sharp controversy

   The death of David Sharp near Everest's summit becomes part of an international debate over climbing ethics and commercial expedition support.

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5. 2001Support for the International Everest Expedition

   The company provides support for the International Everest Expedition.

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6. 1996First Nepalese trekking-company website

   Asian Trekking launches a website and is described as the first trekking company in Nepal to do so.

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7. 1984First Mount Everest expedition

   After organizing treks on other Himalayan mountains, the company arranges its first expedition to Mount Everest.

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8. 1982Asian Trekking is established

   Ang Tshering Sherpa establishes the Nepal-based trekking and mountaineering company.

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A long-established Nepalese Himalayan expedition specialist combining local Sherpa expertise, trekking and climbing access, international expedition logistics, and environmental-conservation programs.

• Everest expeditionsMountaineering expedition1984

  Asian Trekking organizes and supports Mount Everest expeditions from the Nepal and Tibet sides. Services can include expedition planning, permits, base-camp operations, guides and climbing personnel, transport, food, communications, equipment coordination, and other logistical requirements. The company also supports clients purchasing a more limited base-camp or logistics package instead of a fully guided ascent.

• Himalayan trekking programsTrekking1982

  The company offers trekking arrangements in Nepal and the wider Himalayan region. These programs are built around access to mountain routes and can involve itinerary planning, local guides, accommodation, transport, meals, permits, and support staff. Early company activity included treks around Dhaulagiri before the business expanded into large-scale mountaineering expeditions.

• High-altitude expedition logisticsExpedition support

  Asian Trekking provides logistical infrastructure for climbers and expedition organizers targeting major Himalayan peaks. Depending on the program, this may cover route and permit coordination, camps, porters or high-altitude workers, transport, food, communications, equipment handling, and base-camp management. The company has supported expeditions on Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Shishapangma, and other peaks.

• Eco Everest ExpeditionsSustainable expedition program

  Eco Everest Expeditions combine Himalayan climbing activity with environmental cleanup. Asian Trekking has used the program to organize the removal of waste from Mount Everest and has reported collecting more than 25,000 kilograms of garbage from the mountain's slopes. The initiative reflects the company's public emphasis on sustainable tourism and conservation.

• Eco Everest Expeditions

  Nepal · Mount Everest

  A recurring expedition and environmental-cleanup initiative intended to reduce accumulated waste on Mount Everest while supporting climbing activity.

  Outcome. The company reports that more than 25,000 kilograms of garbage were removed from Everest's slopes.

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• Bally Himalayan base-camp cleanup partnership

  Nepal

  During the COVID-19 pandemic period, Asian Trekking partnered with Swiss luxury brand Bally on an effort to clean base camps associated with Nepal's 8,000-meter peaks.

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• 2008Leadership transition to Dawa Steven SherpaStrategy

  After more than two decades under founder Ang Tshering Sherpa, the company transferred leadership to the founder's son.

  What changed. Dawa Steven Sherpa assumed leadership of Asian Trekking.

  Aftermath. The transition maintained family leadership while strengthening the company's association with mountaineering and environmental advocacy.

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• 1996Launch an early digital customer channelStrategy

  International clients increasingly needed a way to discover and contact Nepalese trekking operators remotely.

  What changed. Asian Trekking launched a website, becoming the first Nepalese trekking company described in the reference material as having done so.

  Aftermath. The website gave the company an early direct presence in the international adventure-travel market.

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• 2006David Sharp's Everest death and climbing-ethics controversyControversy

  David Sharp died at approximately 8,500 meters during an Everest ascent for which Asian Trekking provided base-camp support rather than a fully guided climbing team. The death triggered debate about the obligations of other climbers who encountered him, the risks of continuing to the summit, and whether low-cost expedition-support models can contribute to dangerous conditions. The controversy involved the wider climbing community and should not be treated as proof that Asian Trekking personnel directly caused the death.

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• 2015Asian Trekking and Himex assist after the 2015 Everest avalanche

  Following the Mount Everest avalanche, Asian Trekking and Himex helped injured people at their camps.

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• 2009Asian Trekking leads and supports multiple 2009 Himalayan expeditions

  The company organized or supported a series of expeditions, including Eco Everest, Taiwanese seven-summit and Everest programs, International Adventure Alternative, Seven Summit Club, Kazakh Lhotse-Everest, and Indo-Bangladesh Makalu expeditions.

  Other
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• Bally partnership supports cleanup of Nepal's 8,000-meter base camps

  During the COVID-19 pandemic period, Asian Trekking partnered with Swiss luxury brand Bally on an effort to clean the base camps of Nepal's 8,000-meter peaks.

  Campaign
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1. Asian Trekking
2. Asian Trekking official website