Annual Meeting : Training, Team Building, and Preparation

Training, team building, and preparation are three fundamental activities that will help any organization execute its plans smoothly. To enhance the quality of service we provide, Life Himalaya Trekking organized a one-day training, team building, and preparation session with our team. These sessions are something that we do annually and want to continue doing this in the long run.

During this annual meeting, our team members were keen to learn about new ideas, techniques, etc., which can later be implemented in their performance. Compared to our other meetings, this annual meeting was quite extraordinary, and our main focus was to improve ourselves as a better team and stand out from the rest.

We, Life Himalaya Trekking, held our annual meeting on 29th January 2025, where all our team members participated and reflected on their overall experience working with us to date. We discussed all the issues that should be addressed to enhance our service quality. We reflected on our mistakes and promised to improve in every aspect where we could. As a result of this, we focused on implementing new techniques and ideas to improve our service quality. This article will highlight what training sessions we had and what team-building activities we performed to improve ourselves as a team and to provide better service as an organization.

Training Overview

Our annual meeting focused on providing essential training to our guides and porters, equipping them with crucial skills to enhance safety and efficiency in the field. The training covered the use of walkie-talkies, ensuring guides understand their necessity in trekking and tour operations for seamless communication in remote areas. They learned the best use-case scenarios, such as maintaining contact between groups and relaying critical updates in challenging terrains.

Additionally, they received hands-on training on satellite phones, learning when and how to use them in emergencies where standard communication fails.

Our expert Climbing guide Mr. Pasang Sherpa who had climbed Mt.Everest 3 times and other eight-thousanders multiple times was reflecting on many brave stories related to the importance and benefits of walkie-talkies and satellite phones. Having worked in Search and Rescue on many occasions, he was able to save many lives of climbers and mountaineers who were stuck in difficult terrain with the help of simple walkie-talkie or satellite communication.

Another key aspect of the training was handling oxygen cans, regulators, and masks. Guides were educated on the technology behind these devices, including canister pressure, the correct oxygen flow rate, and the appropriate conditions for administering supplemental oxygen. From learning the optimal use case scenario to the technical details, it was a new yet important skill to learn and train for the newcomer guides. Many experiences were shared by Mr Birsha B. Rai and Milan Rijal who have more than 3 decades of experience in Guiding clients to easy short treks such as Ghorepani Poonhill Trek to harsh and demanding passes such as Everest Three High Passes Trekking.

Understanding these aspects is vital for high-altitude trekking, where altitude sickness can become life-threatening. Through this training, our team is better prepared to ensure client safety and respond effectively to any challenges in the mountains.

Team Building Activities

Team Building Activities

The best result for any organization is guaranteed when they build up a strong team. Team building is not just about gathering the best members in the squad. It is more where all the members of an organization sync up well to perform collectively as a team.

To make the Life Himalaya family stronger and smoother, we met with our fellow guides, who shared their experience, insights, and funny jokes. This gathering provided a platform for them to share their experiences, insights, and even a few lighthearted jokes, fostering a stronger connection.

Moreover, our table talk discussion was held to build the bridge between the operation side (Managing Director/Manager/Office staff) to the on-field side (Guides/Porters). The guides pointed out their needs and what will make the quality of work more favorable to foster long-term relationships between each individual with the company. Our Managing Director, Mr. Shiba Hari Rijal was very supportive of the changes that should be made regarding the sales strategies, promotion, and economic changes suggested by the experienced guides.

Assessing Our Journey and Embracing Positive Changes

This annual meeting of 2025 was not just about training and team building. We also accessed our journey from 2016 and promised to embrace positive changes in the coming years. We reflected on the roadmap we followed. We tracked our growth and discussed the quality of service we provided. We deeply went through the feedback and the things we did wrong while working as a team. They not only identified the mistakes we made but found out their root causes.

We planned on how we could fix our errors and perform better as a team. Not just that, we also proposed a new plan on how we proceed further as a team to deliver the best services to our clients. Starting as a family business with 2 guides, now we have become a sustainable and successful company employing more than 50 individuals (guide/porters) directly and many more indirectly. Life Himalaya Team has come a long way.

New things to be added from this year

In the process of achieving the goal as a team, we have brought out a few of the important things/activities to be added from this year onwards. We believe these things will be one of the important stepping stones in our company’s history and build a brand and name among the travelers and the industry that we are on the way to becoming one of the industry’s leading forces in providing quality service and achieving ethical and sustainable Tourism Environment in Nepal.

1. The first thing is we have set up an initiative to carry garbage bags during every trip with our guide and porters. If the guests are interested in that, we can provide that to the guests as well. The Everest Base Camp Trail, The Annapurna Base Camp Trail, and many popular trails are polluted with plastic waste. We have started this initiative to minimize that and make the trail clean. Life Himalaya is one of the first companies to start this initiative, hopefully, many others will join us in the initiative and we are hoping we could work as a nationwide campaign with the help of a governing authority.
2. Life Himalaya will plant “One Tree for Every Guest”, who joins us for any form of Adventure in Nepal, For eg: Trekking, Tours, Sightseeing, Peak Climbing, Jungle Safaris, etc. This is to protect preserve, promote, and protect the natural environment, flora, fauna, and animal life in the hills and Himalayan region of Nepal.
3. We will be using Walkie-Talkies for every difficult trek such as the Annapurna Circuit Trek, especially for the bigger groups as walkie-talkies make the management easier. Also in smaller groups depending upon the weather conditions and difficulty of the trek, as they can be a life-saving tool in some scenarios, the Life Himalaya Team eels the importance of such technology. We will also be providing satellite phones for Every Expedition Such as Thorong Peak Climbing, Ama Dablam Expedition, Himlung Expeditions, and many more.

Conclusion

Our annual meeting focused on providing essential training to our guides and porters, equipping

To sum up, Training, team building, and preparation directly impact the performance of their employees in any organization. These three vital steps enhance the team’s quality, improve performance, and motivate the trainees to do their best in their tasks. It’s indirectly a discipline pushed forward by the organization for the betterment of both the parties, the employees, and the organization.

Ultimately, Life Himalaya Trekking has always focused on providing our team with the best resources available and the best environment possible. As a result, we have been able to deliver our best services to all of our clients and will continue evolving and giving our best as a team.