Founder & Managing Director
Welcome to Alpinist Climber Expeditions.
At Alpinist Climber Expeditions we believe that extraordinary mountains deserve extraordinary leadership, and that belief is the reason ACE exists. When I founded the company in 2021, my vision was simple: to build a premium high-altitude expedition company rooted in professionalism, trust, and an uncompromising standard of safety, the one built on a genuine passion for high-altitude mountaineering, not just the pursuit of summits.
As a certified IFMGA Mountain Guide, I have spent years climbing and leading expeditions across the Himalaya and Karakoram, including on Everest, K2, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. Every one of those mountains is different, but they've taught me the same lesson that a successful expedition is the result of teamwork, precise planning, sound judgment, and a strong commitment to the people who trust you with their journey.
That understanding shapes everything we do at ACE. We focus exclusively on quality over quantity, and we design each one with the same care, experienced leadership, personalized support, and logistics held to the highest international standard, from arrival to summit and safely home again. We keep our teams small so every guest receives the attention they deserve while ensuring sound decisions at every step.
Since our founding, we've had the privilege of guiding climbers, professional athletes, explorers, and adventurers from around the world - supporting first Himalayan summits, alpine-style ascents, 8,000-meter expeditions, and world-class speed and projects without supplemental oxygen. We've shared in personal milestones, national firsts, speed records, and historic ascents. Those achievements belong to the climbers who earned them, but they also speak to the strength, experience, and professionalism of the team standing behind them.
Our commitment doesn't end at the summit. It extends to responsible mountain practices, environmental respect, and a level of safety and service that defines every detail of the experience. Every climber who joins ACE becomes part of a team that values preparation, integrity, and relationships built to last well beyond a single expedition.
Whether your ambition is an iconic Himalayan peak or the challenge of an 8,000-meter giant, we are honored to be your trusted partner on that journey.
Thank you for considering Alpinist Climber Expeditions. I look forward to welcoming you to an exceptional mountain experience on your next great adventure.
Prakash Sherpa
Founder & Managing Director
Alpinist Climber Expeditions
Alpinist Climber Expeditions (ACE) was founded on a clear vision: to deliver premium, professionally led high-altitude expeditions built on uncompromising safety, world-class logistics, and expert mountain leadership. It was the first step on a journey that would soon reach the world's highest summits.
ACE welcomed its first international climbers, Christiane De Jong and Rogier van Keulen, on pioneering expeditions that laid the foundation for the company's growing international reputation.
Later that year, ACE organized the Himlung Himal Speed Project with Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa, setting a remarkable base-camp-to-summit record of 6 hours 35 minutes - a performance sponsored by DYNAFIT that showcased ACE's ability to manage elite high-altitude projects.
ACE successfully led an alpine-style expedition on Pumori and a summit of Nuptse with Christiane De Jong and Prakash Sherpa. In recognition of his achievement, Christiane De Jong received one of the Netherlands' highest alpine honors from the Dutch Alpine Club.
Later in the year, ACE managed the Cho Oyu Speed Project with Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa, completing base camp to summit in 12 hours 35 minutes, once again sponsored by DYNAFIT - another world-class high-altitude performance under ACE leadership.
ACE successfully led an Everest expedition without supplementary oxygen. During the climb, Lenka Poláčková became the 10th woman in history to summit Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen - a landmark moment for women's high-altitude mountaineering and a testament to ACE's expertise in supporting elite expedition goals.
In August, ACE organized the Spantik Speed Project, once again supporting Benedikt Böhm and Prakash Sherpa in another world-class alpine performance.
In spring 2025, ACE organized the Flash Everest Expedition, where Karel Abraham completed an extraordinary Czech-to-Czech Everest expedition in just 14 days - a feat made possible by exceptional planning and logistics led by Prakash Sherpa.
Later that season, ACE led a successful K2 expedition under the leadership of Prakash Sherpa, achieving two historic milestones: Kah Shin Leow became the first Singaporean to summit K2 without supplementary oxygen, and Lenka Poláčková became the first Slovak woman to summit K2 without supplementary oxygen.
After five years of growth, world-class expeditions, and historic achievements, Alpinist Climber Expeditions steps into a new chapter with a refreshed brand identity and logo.
This isn't just a visual change - it reflects who we've become. It carries the experience we've gained, the trust we've earned, and our ongoing commitment to raising the standard of premium high-altitude expeditions.
Our new identity is more than a new look. It's renewed ambition, continuous improvement, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
2021-2025 was our foundation. 2026 marks the beginning of our next ascent. New Identity. Higher Standards. Greater Ambitions.
From our first alpine climbs in 2022 to world-class speed projects, summit records without supplemental oxygen, and historic ascents on Everest and K2, every milestone has shaped who we are today. ACE has grown into a standard high-altitude expedition company recognized for world-class logistics and expert mountain leadership.
Looking ahead, our vision stays clear: to combine international guiding standards with the unmatched expertise of a Nepal-based IFMGA Mountain Guide and an experienced local team - delivering professionally managed expeditions, personalized service, and exceptional mountain leadership to climbers from around the world.
Every summit tells a story. Let ACE help you write yours. Partner with our expert team for a premium, safety-first expedition experience - backed by a proven legacy of record-breaking ascents and world-class mountain leadership.
Begin Your Story →
Beyond these landmark achievements, Alpinist Climber Expeditions has quietly built a legacy across Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, and the wider Himalayan ranges. From technical alpine ascents and 6,000-8,000-meter expeditions to bespoke private climbs and elite speed projects, ACE has guided mountaineers from around the globe toward their personal summits - safely, and with purpose.
Our portfolio spans iconic peaks including Everest, K2, Cho Oyu, Himlung Himal, Pumori, Nuptse, Cholatse and Kyajo Ri, among many others across the region. Each expedition carries the same signature: expert leadership, meticulous planning, uncompromising safety, and a genuinely personalized approach to every climber we guide.
Today, ACE is recognized as a trusted, premium high-altitude expedition company - delivering world-class logistics and mountain leadership while supporting record-setting climbs, first ascents, speed projects, and life-changing Himalayan experiences.
Many expeditions rely on seasonal guides with limited experience or prioritize speed over skill.
Our IFMGA-certified guides are seasoned alpinists with decades in high-altitude terrain. We lead with quiet confidence and deep technical know-how, not ego or hype.
Guiding often begins and ends with logistics. There’s little focus on your personal journey or progress.
We coach, train, and challenge our climbers to grow mentally, physically, and technically. Every summit with us builds your skills, strength, and confidence.
Crowded routes, poor acclimatization, and environmental shortcuts are too often the norm.
We are Nepal’s first guiding company focused exclusively on alpine-style expeditions. With small teams, tailored pacing, and a respect for the mountain, we maintain world-class safety standards and a high summit rate, without compromising the environment.
Every climbing season on Manaslu is different. Record numbers of climbers arrived at Base Camp this autumn, hoping for a straightforward summit. What they found instead was a mountain that tested every team on it, ours included. This article looks back at the full season: how it started, what went wrong, and why we believe the outcome, difficult as it was, was the right one. A Record Season, and a Crowded Mountain Manaslu is usually one of the more approachable 8,000-meter peaks, which is exactly why it drew so many climbers this year. Nepal's Department of Tourism listed close to 500 foreign climbers this season, with a similar number of local guides and support staff on the mountain, making it a record year for permits. Once the fixed ropes reached the top, that many people converging on one route created real congestion. Climbers described long queues on the fixed ropes, especially through the crowded, icy section between Camp 1 and Camp 2, and on the narrow final ridge that leads to Manaslu's true summit, which can only hold one or two people at a time. A mountain built for small, careful teams was suddenly hosting a crowd. That combination, a narrow summit and hundreds of climbers all aiming for the same short weather window, set the stage for the difficulties that followed. Traffic Jam in Manaslu 2026 Season The Danger Builds: Avalanches on the Upper Slopes Manaslu's upper mountain is known among guides for its avalanche-prone slopes, and this season made that reputation clear early. An avalanche swept down near Camp 4 and buried a freshly fixed section of rope, just hours before the rope-fixing team planned to use it. No one was hurt in that incident, but it was an early sign of how loaded and unstable the snowpack had become. Persistent snowfall over the following days made conditions worse, not better. Layers of fresh, loose snow sat on top of older snow, creating the unstable slab conditions that guides watch for closely. Our own team, positioned on the mountain at the time, could see and feel how quickly things were changing. Heavy Snowfall in Manaslu Base Camp Tragedy on the Mountain: Two Lives Lost During this period, a slab avalanche struck a tent at Camp 3, killing a foreign climber and his guide, who had pushed higher than the rest of their team in hopes of an early summit attempt. A rescue team later found them buried under roughly two meters of snow. This loss affected the entire mountain, not just the team involved. Climbers, guides, and outfitters from every expedition, including ours, felt the weight of it. The ACE team holds the memory of these two lives in our thoughts, and we offer our condolences to their families and their expedition family. A Narrow Escape for Our Own Team During this stretch of unstable weather, one of our guide's tent was buried by snow. Luckily, he was not inside and had went outside just before the snow sturk the tent and buried it. There was no serious damage to any of our members or our climbing Sherpa guides. It was a close call, and a clear reminder of how quickly conditions on Manaslu can turn serious, even at camps that are normally considered safe. We share this not to alarm anyone, but because it is part of an honest account of this season. Every member of our team, guides and clients alike, came home safe. We are deeply grateful for that. One of our guide's tent buried by snow. (Luckily, the guide was outside the tent in that moment) Racing the Cyclone As if avalanche danger were not enough, the weather forecast added more pressure. A cyclone forming over the Bay of Bengal was tracked heading toward Nepal, expected to bring heavy new snow and force every team off the mountain before it arrived. That left teams still on Manaslu with a hard choice: wait it out for days or weeks, call off their climb and go home, or rush a summit attempt with less rest and more crowding on the ropes than anyone would prefer. This kind of pressure is exactly when accidents tend to happen. Rushed decisions, tired climbers, and a shrinking safety margin are a difficult combination on any 8,000-meter peak. Our Team's Highest Point: 7,100 Meters Our team completed two full rotations to prepare for the summit push, and once the route was fixed, we climbed to 7,100 meters, the highest point reached by any team on Manaslu this season. Reaching that height took real skill, discipline, and teamwork from our Sherpa staff and our clients. From there, the combination of unstable snow, the recent avalanche, and the approaching storm made it clear that going higher was not worth the risk. We turned back. ACE Team's Acclimatization Rotation Not Alone: How the Rest of the Mountain Responded Our decision was not made in isolation. As conditions worsened, a large number of operators on Manaslu came to the same conclusion, ending their seasons and sending their climbers home. Almost all teams on the mountain have now left. A small number remain at Base Camp, hoping for one more weather window, but current forecasts make that increasingly unlikely, and it's likely most of them will also head home before the season is out. Seeing so many experienced teams and guides reach the same decision, independently, said a lot about how serious this season's conditions really were. This was not one operator being overly cautious. It was a mountain-wide judgment call. A Message: Respect the Mountain Manaslu did not give us the summit this year. It gave us something else instead: a clear reminder of where we stand next to a mountain like this. We are not greater than nature. No amount of preparation, experience, or determination changes that. The avalanche danger, the storm, the loss of life this season, none of it cared about summit dreams or expedition budgets. The mountain simply did what mountains do, and our job was to listen. We believe real mountaineering is not only about reaching the top. It is about knowing the mountain deserves your respect more than your ambition does. This season asked a lot of every team on Manaslu, and we are proud that ours listened when it mattered most. Manaslu will still be there next year. So will we, and we'll return when conditions, and the mountain, are ready to welcome us back. About Alpinist Climber Expeditions Alpinist Climber Expeditions has run Himalayan climbs and treks in Nepal since 2021, guided by IFMGA-certified mountain guides and experienced Sherpa climbing staff. Safety has always come first in every decision we make, on Manaslu and every mountain we climb.
This website is owned and operated by Alpinist Climber Expeditions Pvt. Ltd. (Regd. No. 269034/078/079, PAN No. 610067756). The official website, alpinistclimberexpeditions.com, provides information about our mountaineering expeditions, guiding services, and related activities. By using this website, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Intellectual Property Policy. We reserve the right to update or modify website content, itineraries, pricing, services, and these terms at any time without prior notice. Mountaineering and high-altitude expeditions involve inherent risks, and expedition outcomes or summit success cannot be guaranteed.
If you do not agree with these terms, please discontinue use of this website.
