Support young Nepali climbers’ exposure to improve their skills

Updated 12 December 2023: This story has been updated to reflect 2 changes, one that Tintin is not be able to join because his boss would not give him leave (he works in high ropes access in Dubai), and two that Climb Central has also generously agreed to provide free entry to their walls.

Hello! Namaste!

We're Jocelyne and Omar, rock climbers from Singapore and UK respectively. We're raising funds for 6 Nepali climbers, Prena, Swastika, Sajan, Khando, Ronak, and Bikash, to visit Singapore for an experiential/learning trip this December 2023. They're some of the most talented and dedicated young climbers in the country, having been climbing hard for several years now.

In Nepal, few people would have the opportunity to pursue their passions and dreams, let alone to travel abroad to do so. Furthermore, although Nepal is famous for mountaineering, rock climbing is still very much in its initial phases, similar to how Singapore would have been 20, 30 years ago.

We've spent nearly a year and a half in Nepal, and been climbing with these guys. We've seen them come to the gym nearly every night, trying their best with the limited facilities available. We've watched them get stronger, and seen their desire to learn and get better at climbing. Most of them have never been out of Nepal, and we would love for them to be able to experience modern climbing gyms and top class facilities, be exposed to different climbing styles and be able to learn from other strong and technical climbers. It would be a dream come true for them.

Singapore is a great destination for them as Nepalis don't require a visa to visit Singapore, plus Singapore is home to Lighthouse Climbing, an amazing state-of-the-art climbing gym that has generously agreed to provide these climbers with free passes and is our official gym partner! We're also grateful to Boulder Planet and Climb Central Singapore for sponsoring free passes.

Coming to Singapore, they'll not just be climbing, but will also be able to experience the sea (Nepal is land-locked), check out Singapore's hawker centres and taste our chicken rice, nasi lemak and roti prata. To come from the country with the highest mountains in the world to touch the tropical seas of Singapore would be a very special experience.

We hope to organise a 7-10 day trip for them, and the funds we're raising will cover their flights (~SGD730 per person; SGD5110 total), accommodation (~SGD3300), public transport within country (~SGD700), and meals (~SGD1400) [costs estimated based on a 10 day trip but final plans will depend on the amount we manage to raise]. This platform charges 6.9%, which is why our fundraising target is a little higher (SGD11,235).

If we do not hit our funding goals (or at least to be able to cover the cost of the flights) by 15 September, we will discuss with Bikash (the responsible adult who's probably the best climber in Nepal and been helping to train these youths) about the best course of action; if we proceed with a smaller group of climbers, or extend our campaign and plan for a later trip.

The money raised on this platform will go to Jocelyne's personal bank account as she is the one making the arrangements. Any questions can be directed to her at jocelyne[dot]sze[at]gmail[dot]com.