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Young Tibetans Trained To Be Mountaineering Guide
By KTM Metro Reporter
March 29, 2011: China has started off training young Tibetans at Tibet Mountaineering Guide School in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to offset the domination of Nepal's legendary Sherpa people in the Himalayan mountain guide industry, Xinhua: news agency of China reports on March 25, 2011.
Currently, the Tibet Mountaineering Guide School has altogether 44 students. All the students are from the areas at the foot of Mt. Qomolongma, at an altitude of 4800 meters and above. With at least a middle-school diploma, they must pass both cultural and physical examinations to enter the mountaineering guide school. They will complete a three-year program to become mountain guide.
Besides Tibetan, they are taught to read and write in Chinese and English. They learn all facets of mountain climbing, rock climbing and ice climbing, rope skills, safety, rescue, emergency treatment, weather and geography, logistics and camp management. They also learn high-altitude cooking techniques for use in base camps.
They receive free dormitory shared by five to six roommates, free board better than food at home, as well as good-quality clothing and equipment sponsored by famous company. "I like studying Chinese most, and rock climbing is a lot of fun too." Zhamdul said. The only problem for Zhamdul is that having a girlfriend is not permitted. "One should not smoke, drink alcohol and have girlfriend at school, otherwise you will be kicked out," he said.
Founded in 1999 in Lhasa, the school has turned out around 150 Tibetan graduate guides skilled in state-of-the-art mountain climbing techniques. With fund from the government and sponsor from private companies like Ozark outdoor gear company, the school has been enlarged to its current site in 2004. It covers an area of 15,000 square meters, offering modern teaching facilities, dormitories and rock climbing training ground.
After graduating from the school, the young men will work for the Tibet Himalaya Expedition Co, the school's sister company, with an average monthly salary of 2,000 yuan (US $ 305). Chinese and Western expeditions will also hire high-altitude guides and kitchen staff trained by the school.
Executive vice-principal of School Cering Samdrub has said that graduates of the school have provided mountain guide services to climbers from Japan, the United States, Spain, and so on. "For over an hundred years, the Sherpa people of Nepal have been dominating the mountain guide industry in Himalaya, but now we are catching up. Previously we emphasized more on the physical capability of our graduates, but now while still training hard on their climbing techniques, we focus more on their language skills and the ability to cooperate with others." said Cering Samdrub, "an eligible mountain guide must be an all-rounder."
