Records & People

A Kanab, Utah, Trek Ten Years Ago Became an $800,000 Aid Mission to Nepal's Highest Villages

A retired psychologist from a small Utah desert town turned one Himalayan trek into Village Light — a nonprofit now supplying food, medicine and…

By Laxman Rawal · Aug 4, 2026

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Ten years ago, a retired psychologist named Sky Chaney was trekking through the Nepali Himalaya when he noticed something most visitors notice and few act on: how brutal the winters must be in villages this high, this far from anything. Chaney, who had moved…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means for trekkers

Sama Valley and Tsum sit inside the Manaslu Conservation Area, on the trail network used by the Manaslu Circuit and by dedicated Tsum Valley treks — a restricted region that, unlike Everest or Annapurna, still requires a licensed guide and a special permit…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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