Kathmandu, November 23

Mountaineering in Nepal has a long history and a large number of people depend on mountain tourism for their livelihoods. Recognising this fact, the government has established Nepal Mountain Academy under Tribhuvan University to offer high education on mountaineering.

This is also the first college in the world to introduce academic course in mountaineering, according to the college administration.

The college has officially started first semester classes for Bachelors of Mountaineering after it acquired TU accreditation on February 7. The college also plans to run Masters of Adventure Tourism in near future.

The college, which has been running classes at Satdobato, is planning to move to Solukhumbu, where it has built international standard infrastructure. TU administrators said the college would also attract foreign students and produce highly skilled manpower for mountain tourism in the country.

Educationalist and the academic adviser of the college Ramesh Raj Kunwar said, “An academic course in mountaineering and other adventure sports was inevitable in the country. We have now established a college that will not only produce human resources for mountain tourism but also convert the whole mountain range into economic powerhouse of the country.”

Executive director at the Office of the Planning Directorate, TU, Ridish Kumar Pokharel said, students in the college receive profound knowledge of mountaineering as well as other adventure sports. Students are required to climb 6,000 to 7,000 metre tall mountains in their final semesters.