Summiters: Rolwaling Mountaineering School In 2003 Bridges will inaugurate a climbing school for tourists in association with the Bridges to Rolwaling program. Participants will join the academic/volunteer group for orientation activities in Kathmandu and for the shake-down rafting trip; they may also choose to participate in some of the volunteer projects, including the installation of the first hydropower plant in the valley. The instructors for this program are Dawa Chiri and Tsering Dorje, both natives of Rolwaling, and both Everest summiters.

Agenda: After the trek in to Beding (3600m), Summiters will have 4 weeks of training in a variety of mountaineering skills, including ice climbing, first aid, and rescue. Summiters will headquarter at Beding, from which there are quite a few spectacular daytrips and one- or two-day excursions: Menlung Glacier (where Shipton took his famous yeti footprint photos), the south wall of Gauri Shankar, Tsho Rolpa, Oma'i Tsho, Yalung Ri, and many others. At the conclusion of training, the Summiters team will cross Tashi Lapsta pass to Khumbu, pausing to climb Pachermo (6187 m). They will then be on their own to explore Khumbu and choose their own route back to Kathmandu.

An additional opportunity will be available for those who choose to stay in Khumbu until the end of May. Bridges-PRTD and Hokkaido University are organizing an international conference at Namche Bazar: "People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism." This conference is scheduled to coincide with the grand finale of the Everest Jubilee Year, the 50th anniversary of the first ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Both the Jubilee and the Namche Conference will attract climbers and researchers from around the world, so it will be a good chance to meet them informally, and to make connections that will be useful in the future. Summiters are also encouraged to participate in conference discussions; if you need college credit, we can help you format an academic presentation on recreational tourism in Rolwaling.

• March 24-29 Kathmandu (orientation)
• March 30-31 Rafting on Bhote Khosi
• April 1-April 5 Hike to Beding
• April 6- May 4 Mountaineering exercises; the last week will include the ascent of Pachermo and the crossing of Tashi Lapts pass to Thame.

Requirements: From the outset we will assume that participants have no serious climbing experience. There will be instruction and practice in all necessary basic skills, including the use of equipment. A low student-to-instructor ratio will allow us to break up into small teams, however, in order to maintain a high level of challenge even for relatively experienced participants.

Costs: