Before the establishment of the Tibet Mountaineering School, there was no institution in China capable of providing services for amateur mountaineers aiming to climb 8,000-meter peaks. The founding of the Tibet Mountaineering School changed the fates of two groups. One group consists of students recruited from the regions where the mountains are located. They left their mountain villages, received quality education, and found jobs they love. The other group includes many domestic mountaineering enthusiasts whose dreams of reaching high summits were realized. Through the meticulous organization of Sacred Mountain Expedition Company, batches of climbers have been guided from 6,000-meter peaks all the way to the world’s summit—Mount Everest. On the Chinese side, Sacred Mountain Company has become the most authoritative high-altitude mountaineering service provider in the field of global exploration.
Sacred Mountain Expedition Company is a highly responsible enterprise. By following a path of sustaining the industry through the industry itself, it has developed a model for professional mountaineering education in China. Through its operations, it has created sustainable funding for the Tibet Mountaineering School, allowing students to receive completely free education. This has established a school-running model sustained by the industry, while also solving employment issues for many children from mountainous farming and herding families. The company pays 800,000 yuan annually for social insurance for its guides. Batch after batch of outstanding graduates from the mountaineering school have entered the professional field of high-altitude commercial expeditions. The mountain culture education they received at the Tibet Mountaineering School continues to benefit China’s mountaineering endeavors. Since 2000, these young people have participated in all major mountaineering activities in China, including the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters expeditions, the 50th anniversary of the first human ascent of Everest in 2003, the 2005 Everest remeasurement, and the 2008 Olympic torch relay to Everest. These young people have been part of it all. Especially in high-altitude rescue, they have repeatedly helped both domestic and international climbers, saving precious lives. With sweat and dedication, they have contributed to Tibet’s economic development.
In forging the path of China’s commercial mountaineering, we have also paid a painful price. During mountaineering services, over 20 individuals suffered severe frostbite to their hands and feet. Among them, the first batch’s Luo Bu, the second batch’s Luo Qiong, and the third batch’s Dan Zeng Jiu had almost all their fingers and toes amputated, which has caused certain difficulties in daily life.
Since its founding, Sacred Mountain Company has been building the most professional, internationally standardized high-altitude expedition organization with integrated systems encompassing command, medical support, meteorological services, transportation, camp construction, route preparation, support teams, and environmental protection. Compared to third-country high-altitude service systems, the difference is like that between “guerrilla forces and regular armies.” The services we provide for a 12-person commercial team on Everest involve nearly 70 support personnel. This includes route preparation teams, transport teams, support teams, logistics teams, and a one-to-one guide ratio (internationally, one guide can lead four clients). Starting in 2010, Sacred Mountain Company added four backup guides for each climbing team ascending from 8,300 meters to the summit, in addition to the one-to-one guides, for emergency evacuation or contingency plans. This means the company must provide additional high-altitude food, fuel, oxygen, equipment, and personal insurance for four more people. Such a no-cost-cutting approach to commercial mountaineering exists only in China—and only within Sacred Mountain Expedition Company.
Mountaineering is an elite sport. Some international adventure companies that do not offer the same level of safety and service as Sacred Mountain Company charge even double the price. Some domestic mountaineers have participated in such international commercial mountaineering organizations. Of course, there are also lower-cost service providers, but typically, a team can only afford to hire 4–5 third-country high-altitude service personnel, as hiring one such professional costs over 50,000 yuan in total. Many foreign commercial teams cannot afford to hire so many guides and support staff. However, these organizations cannot guarantee the safety or summit success of climbers. They lack one-to-one guides and support teams, comprehensive logistics departments, effective command systems, and even reliable mountaineering weather information. Many accident-prone teams fall into this category.
Some have suggested to us that commercial mountaineering needs competition. But after evaluating the commercial mountaineering landscape in the Himalayas in recent years, we believe that China’s high-altitude commercial mountaineering industry is not yet mature and is not ready for competition within the next five years. Mountaineering is a high-risk activity. More competition leads to more danger and inevitably results in price undercutting, which compromises safety standards and leads to more accidents. In a survey of nearly 100 students, none expressed a desire for internal competition.
Note: On Everest, our guides, out of concern for Wang Tianhan’s safety, insisted on bringing him down from 7,800 meters. After returning to Lhasa, he apologized to Sacred Mountain Company for his reckless ascent. Sacred Mountain Company also apologized for any shortcomings. Since then, many mountaineers have offered valuable feedback to us. We are still a very young expedition company with many areas needing improvement. We are committed to learning humbly and making corrections.(Source: Sacred Mountain Expedition)