The 10th Tibet (Spring) Mountaineering Conference recently concluded successfully, with dozens of amateur mountaineers from across the country realizing their dream of climbing snowy peaks with the help of the Tibet Mountaineering Team and the Tibet Mountaineering School.
“After descending from the mountains, all fellow climbers spoke highly of our organization and services,” said Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibet Mountaineering Team. “The Tibet Mountaineering Team has shifted from challenging human limits and engaging in high-altitude expeditions to serving economic and social development.”
Making Climbing Less Lonely
The Tibet Mountaineering Team is a world-renowned climbing force. Its members have reached the summit of Mount Everest 163 times and scaled peaks above 8,000 meters 428 times, and have participated in and completed all major national mountaineering missions since 1975. The most recent one was just four years ago—on May 8, 2008, when the Olympic flame was lit on Mount Everest.
However, after 2008, national missions became fewer and fewer. With the mountains climbed, where should mountaineers go?
Nyima Tsering said that although the sport has shed the burden and glory of national missions, it should not fade from public view. Mountaineering is thriving worldwide, and experienced, highly skilled Tibetan mountaineers should not retire early from the snowy peaks they love. Instead, they can contribute more to popularizing the sport.
From 1993 to 2007, three mountaineers—Sherding Dorje, Pemba Tashi, and Lhakpa—collectively achieved the first-ever completion of all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters in human history. This spring, they became coaches guiding novice climbers step by step.
“Like university professors teaching elementary students, these coaches are incredibly kind. They don’t change their attitude just because they’ve climbed many peaks while we are amateurs. They patiently answer every question we ask, even some very basic ones,” said Guo Ming, a Beijing-based climber.
After completing his climbs in 2007, climbing hero Pemba Tashi mostly stayed at home due to health issues. He told reporters that he longed to return to the mountains, even if only as a staff member or service provider.
“Mountaineering isn’t like other competitive sports—we used to feel very lonely,” Pemba Tashi said. “Now that our country is stronger and more people love this sport, I’m deeply moved and happy to help them. Tibet still has thousands of peaks between 6,000 and 7,000 meters. I can’t climb them all myself, but assisting other climbers gives me purpose, and I’m glad to do it.”
Wang Jia, 55, head of the coaching team for the Tibet Mountaineering Conference, said that among the 26 coaches serving the conference, 24 have summited Everest, with one having done so eight times. The Tibetan mountaineering service team, including high-altitude guides and support staff, has played a leading role in numerous large-scale climbing events, breaking the monopoly of Nepalese Sherpas in high-altitude support.
Mountaineering Serves Economic and Social Development
At the recently concluded 10th Tibet (Spring) Mountaineering Conference, there was also a special participant—Qi Zhala, member of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Committee and secretary of the Lhasa Municipal Party Committee. This “local official” not only attended the main ceremonies of the conference but also climbed with other participants to the Advance Base Camp at an altitude of 5,230 meters. This special participant highlights the local government’s emphasis on the mountaineering industry.
“The central government has proposed building Tibet into a world-class tourism destination. What products can we offer to tourists? In addition to traditional Tibetan culture, religion, and folklore, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the ‘Third Pole’ of the world, is our greatest resource!” Qi Zhala said. Tibet has the natural and human resources to vigorously develop the mountaineering industry, and in the near future, Tibetan mountaineering products will surely showcase unique charm in China’s outdoor tourism sector.
According to statistics from the Tibet Mountaineering Association, from 2005 to 2010, Tibet hosted over 600 climbing teams from more than 40 countries and regions, involving nearly 30,000 climbers, generating over 48 million yuan in revenue for the areas where the mountains are located.
In addition to promoting plateau-specific industries, Tibet’s mountaineering transformation has also created significant social benefits.
From March to May 2010, students from the Tibet Mountaineering School cleaned up areas at 6,500 meters, 8,300 meters, and 8,700 meters on Mount Everest, removing about 4 tons of garbage left by climbers and tourists.
In August 2011, the Tibet Autonomous Region High-Altitude Rescue Team was officially established, filling the gap of having no formal high-altitude rescue team in the Himalayas. The team aims to carry out large-scale, high-difficulty, and high-standard high-altitude rescues, minimizing the loss of life and property for climbers and striving to build a safety barrier for mountaineering.
Shortly after, the Tibet Mountaineering School and the High-Altitude Rescue Team, together with a well-known outdoor brand, launched the “Snow Mountain Guardians Program,” aimed at promoting environmentally friendly mountaineering and spreading correct outdoor adventure concepts.
“We are working hard on everything, including rescue, environmental protection, and the organization and promotion of mountaineering culture,” Nyima Tsering said.
Since its establishment in 1999, the Tibet Mountaineering School has trained hundreds of professional mountaineering talents for the country and has also provided livelihood opportunities for impoverished youth from mountainous areas.
“Now the regional party committee and government also place great importance on this. We may further enhance the school’s teaching capacity and expand its scale,” Nyima Tsering said. “More youth from mountainous areas where peaks are located can solve employment issues and improve their lives through mountaineering.”
Tibet Mountaineers Conquer New “Summits”
“There have been many challenges in this four-year transformation, the first being a shift in mindset among us mountaineers,” Nyima Tsering said. “Previously, everyone thought mountaineering was a highly specialized activity and didn’t know how it could be integrated with economic and social development.”
Thanks to the rapid popularization of mountaineering and the Tibet Mountaineering Team and Tibet Mountaineering School’s increased efforts in talent cultivation in recent years, Tibetan mountaineers today have significantly improved in cultural quality and professional skills, reaching new heights in team development.
“Students at the mountaineering school enter with only a junior high school education. At school, they not only learn mountaineering expertise but also study culture and foreign languages, forming an excellent knowledge structure. They are the fresh blood of Tibetan mountaineering.”
Every winter, systematic winter training is a mandatory course for members of the Tibet Mountaineering Team, students of the Tibet Mountaineering School, and high-altitude guides from the Tibet Sacred Mountain Expedition Company, among others in the mountaineering community. They not only train in technique and endurance but also study high-altitude medicine, high-altitude meteorology, environmental protection, high-altitude rescue, high-altitude photography, Tibetan history and culture, and foreign affairs discipline. Additionally, they maintain close exchanges with foreign counterparts, including the École Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme in France.
“We must also specially thank mountaineering enthusiasts from other provinces and cities. Some are elites in their fields, and some have extensive climbing experience both domestically and internationally. In recent years, we have been able to smoothly transition from high-altitude expeditions to serving the market, thanks to the advanced concepts these climbers have shared with us,” Nyima Tsering said, giving an example: at this year’s mountaineering conference, a climber who is a senior executive at a company specifically sought him out for a long conversation after reaching the summit, discussing how to further improve the organization and services of mountaineering activities.
"Management, details — we still haven't got these right. Going forward, we need to engage more with the market and further improve our services," said Nyima Tsering. Nowadays, the goal of Tibetan mountaineers is not only to keep up with world-class mountaineering techniques but also to ensure the protection of mountain resources and address the challenges of scientific management and sustainable development of these peaks.