A big hat tip to the Chhetri sisters of Nepal, pioneer women in the field of Nepalese trekking guides.

It’s a lot of work to haul loads and guide clients up and down the Himalayas — work that has long been reserved for men. One of the sisters heard a story about female trekking clients being harassed by their drunken male guides, so they started the Chhetri Sisters Trekking Company, operated by women and offering services to female travelers.

As this story tells us, the sisters were led, eventually, to the founding of Empowering Women of Nepal, which offers free trekking guide training to women. EWN has trained more 16,000 women to be guides so far. They are also in the business of rescuing children from forced-labor situations.

So please read the story for their inspiring tale, and let’s all support the ladies of Nepal trekking!