Rajan Gurung

Rajan grew up at 2,012 m in Ghandruk, one of the villages you walk through on the Annapurna Base Camp route. He knows that trail the way most people know their own street — every switchback, every teahouse family, every microclimate. With more than 300 expeditions led and wilderness first-aid certification from the Nepal Mountaineering Association, he is the guide your safety depends on at altitude. His rule has not changed in fifteen years: "We descend if in doubt. The summit will still be there."