We are excited to announce our partnership with the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal, a renowned nonprofit organization founded in 1973. This collaboration will allow for a more seamless fundraising in the United States and bringing more education to mountain travelers. See our post about this new page for Musa Masala here

Musa and HRA teams at the Wilderness Medical Society Conference in Snowbird, UT.

In June, Musa Masala, in collaboration with the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation and Wongchhu Peak Promotion, sponsored our third free, week-long dental camp at the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital! This year was the biggest yet: 6 dentists gave their time to come from Kathmandu to treat almost 600 patients over the week. As always, the days were long, and the crowds were large, making it a challenge to get through each day. We are so fortunate to have the amazing staff at the hospital assisting with the camp. The dentists were brilliant with their care and their spirits. It was so much fun! We will have a full report on the website coming up. Meanwhile, here is a video overview of the event. Due to the high demand, we hope to offer a second yearly camp.


The Musa team just got back from the Sierra Nevada Conservation & Wilderness Medicine Conference in Quincy, CA. This was our 5th visit to Quincy, and as always, we deeply enjoyed the conference, the people, and the wonderful town!

This time, we presented our Creating in Comfort Art Workshop, featuring our Musa artist Julie Ramirez. Julie did a tremendous job showing the simple steps one can take to relieve stress through watercolor and ink  by drawing inspiration from nature. At the end, there was a huge chalkboard where everyone at the conference was encouraged to add their piece. It was amazing to see what we can all create together!
Left: Conference organizers and Musa Masala team with the group chalk drawing in the background. Right: Musa Masala table with curious little visitors.
Before the conference, we visited the schools in Quincy, CA, where many of the students had experienced firsthand the destruction of the wildfires. We presented a program to the students called An Idea to Reality. We used the story of the book we wrote to help fundraise for the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital and how it led to many other impactful projects. We spoke to students ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors; our respect for teachers knows no bounds!

The team did eight presentations before the conference. What a workout!


Mike, Julie and Tatiana presenting on An Idea to Reality to the school children in Quincy, CA.

Musa Masala helped sponsor one of the events of the 2024 Everest climbing season: the walk from Kathmandu to the top of Everest by our friend, Rajesh Lama, known as Lama Dai. He walked with his wife, Rachana Lama, from Kathmandu and over the Chola Pass to Everest Base Camp in 24 days. Along the way, he worked as a medic at an adventure race and climbed Mt. Labouche. Look forward to Lama’s first-hand account of his journey and a video interview with Dr. Nishant at Everest ER. We are excited for Lamai Dai to emcee our climbing competition in November!


From left to right: Mr. Hari Dharel, head of the Nepal Climbing Sport Association, (NCSA) and former head of the HRA, Lama Dai, and Mike Ji at the climbing competition in Kathmandu.
We’re wrapping up our newsletter with an exciting update on our climbing projects! On November 23rd, we’ll be hosting the Musa Masala Open Lead Climbing Competition at the Kathmandu Sport Climbing Center. We can’t wait to bring a fun and challenging event to Nepal’s vibrant indoor climbing community!

But we need your support to make it all happen. Since restarting competitions in 2022, we’ve seen incredible growth in the number of events held in Nepal. Let’s keep the momentum going! Your help will allow us to continue hosting these important competitions and providing wilderness medicine training and Leave No Trace ethics to the talented athletes, empowering them to push their limits and chase their goals.

With your support, we can also keep sponsoring climbers to compete internationally, giving them the chance to represent Nepal on the global stage.

Learn about the March 2024 Lead Climbing Championship that we co-sponsored at this link.

Jam Jam!
The Musa Masala Team
The whole team in front of the hospital during the Dental Camp