Here is how we think about our responsibility to the mountains, the communities, and the people who make our trips possible.
On the Trail
HAL’s self-supported format is a deliberate choice, not a marketing angle. No porters, no pack animals. Guides and participants carry their own kit. This reduces the human footprint on fragile high-altitude ecosystems and removes the extractive dynamic that characterizes much of the commercial adventure industry. We make an exception for elderly clients and clients who are facing an emergency.
We follow Leave No Trace principles across all our expeditions. On camping trips, we carry all non-biodegradable waste out. On tea house routes, we actively discourage single-use plastics and either provide participants with water purification systems or ask them to bring their own.
We contract with a professional weather forecaster for all high-pass crossings, and a remote doctor who has worked at the Everest Emergency Room.
For Local Communities
HAL is a locally owned and operated company. We pay above-industry-rate wages to all guides and support staff, provide medical and emergency evacuation insurance, and cover equipment costs. We do not sub-contract to agencies – every guide on an HAL trip is a direct HAL relationship.
In 2026, we began transitioning to an employee-owned model using Nepal’s first Convertible Share Incentive Plan (CSIP) in adventure tourism, transitioning sixteen current and former guides from seasonal freelance contractors to preferential shareholders in HAL. This is not a PR exercise – it is a structural response to a gig economy that has long denied mountain guides the security and ownership stake they deserve.
We source food locally wherever possible, eat at locally owned tea houses, and actively encourage participants to spend beyond the trip cost in the communities we pass through – at local shops, with local artisans, and at cultural sites. We incorporate local customs into our trips, including interactive tea sessions with a local shaman and a children’s race at a government school in Manang. These experiences allow guests to encounter local life authentically and engage directly with the communities we pass through.
Community Discounts
We support like-minded communities and the organisations that build them. HAL offers a 5% discount to participants in events by Boldly Went, Rainshadow Running, and Trail Running Nepal, Manjushree Trail Race as well as regular listeners of the Ultra Runner Podcast and readers of West Coast Weather. We also extend this discount to students and school teachers.
An additional 5% discount is available for medical professionals, current Wilderness First Responders, and EMTs – recognising the role these professionals play in keeping mountain communities safe, and in acknowledgement of the wilderness medicine expertise they bring to our trips.
Discounts can be combined. Contact us at info@himalayanadventurelabs.com to apply.
Himalayan Outdoor Safety Initiative (HOSI)
HAL founded the Himalayan Outdoor Safety Initiative (HOSI) to raise safety standards across Nepal’s adventure tourism industry – not just within our own operations, but for freelance guides and smaller adventure companies who lack the resources to build these systems independently.
Through HOSI, we provide participating guides and companies with emergency protocol development, satellite phones, Garmin InReach trackers, handheld transceivers, medical insurance and search and rescue coverage, access to a remote wilderness medicine doctor, weather forecasting, and a dedicated backstopper in Kathmandu. These are the same safety systems HAL uses on its own expeditions, made accessible to the wider industry at minimal cost.
HOSI is a community project available to Nepali guides and adventure companies. It has been recognised by The Guardian as part of a broader movement to professionalise adventure safety in Nepal. We believe that a safer industry is a more sustainable industry – for guides, for clients, and for the mountains.
Research and Conservation
Since 2022, HAL has awarded an annual undergraduate research grant to one Nepali student working at the intersection of conservation, tourism development, and rural economy. The grant funds fieldwork, bringing academic research closer to the communities and landscapes that need it most. 2025 HAL Grantee.
The HAL Explorer Fund supports young Nepalis from underrepresented backgrounds to access the outdoors safely – with gear, training, and guided introductions to Nepal’s trails.
HAL has contributed to and actively helps maintain the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT) hiker database, making route information freely available to independent trekkers and researchers. We share our route intelligence openly rather than treating it as proprietary.
Carbon and Environmental Footprint
Our trips are high-altitude and physically demanding – participants fly internationally to join them, and we do not pretend otherwise. We are exploring a trip-level carbon contribution model to fund verified reforestation projects in Nepal, which we intend to implement formally by 2027.
We use rechargeable equipment wherever possible, use gas cylinders and solar power at campsites, and avoid helicopter support except in genuine medical emergencies.
Gear and Equipment
We recommend durable, repairable gear over disposable fast-outdoor alternatives. Our kit lists prioritize longevity over cost, and we actively advise against single-use rain covers, cheap waterproofs, and non-recyclable gear. We partner with brands whose environmental values align with ours.
HAL guides use and recommend Patagonia, Hyperlite Mountain Gear for its durability, repairability, and the company’s alignment with our own values around environmental responsibility and fair labour.
This policy was last updated: February 2026. We review it annually and welcome feedback from our clients, guides, and partners at info@himalayanadventurelabs.com.