Phortse village is home to the Khumbu Climbing Center where Sherpa and all indigenous Nepalis have learned technical climbing skills vital to their safety for the past fifteen years.

On June 13th 2019, Phortse Khumbu Nepal held a grand opening ceremony to celebrate the completion of its earthquake safe and passive solar facility to house the Khumbu Climbing Center program that is now in its 16th year. This beautiful facility houses an indoor Walltopia climbing wall and outdoor training walls that compliment local climbing on natural rock and significant waterfall ice. The facility offers a spacious viewing area and library with a complete mountaineering collection and children’s section. The facility also includes a warm spacious medical clinic for wellness and teaching with two hospital grade bathrooms.

KCC has a complete collection of gear and tools for technical climbing courses and will continue to host climbing courses for all Nepali and Sherpa climbers each January. Additional programs will be added over time to expand use of the facility and classes will be designed and opened to foreign students in 2020.

The KCC facility serves as a community center for the pastoral alpine village of Phortse which is home to generations of Sherpa climbers and boasts more Everest summiters than anywhere on earth. In the event of an earthquake, the KCC facility will provide a safe refuge for the village of 350.

The Khumbu Climbing Center is a registered Nonprofit in Kathmandu, Nepal with an active board of directors and advisors. It operates in cooperation with the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation, a registered nonprofit in the USA.

Help ALCF to safeguard Indigenous Nepali climbers and a village that is home to more Everest summiteers than anywhere on earth.