Bikash Thapa

Bikash is from the Everest district — his hometown sits at 2,376 m, which means altitude is home rather than something to adjust to. He has summited Mera Peak (6,476 m) and Island Peak (6,189 m), and leads every Everest Base Camp expedition we run. He carries a pulse oximeter above 3,500 m, oxygen above 5,000 m, and a calm that comes from twelve years of reading mountains. Trekkers describe him as quietly unstoppable — the person who made them believe they could do it, at Gorak Shep, in the dark, at 5am.