www.sunstoneadventures.com was born on November 3rd 2009!
A big thanks to my great friends at NV Interactive - Grant, Sam and Tim!
Sunstone utilises local guides on all their Adventures Trips in the Himalayas. It's a great way for Western clients to interact with a local person for an extended period of time learning about specific local culture and customs. It also means we provide employment which is ongoing and creates sustainability that adds value to that specific community. Expertise and experience can also be shared and passed on by Sunstone team leaders and vice versa. It also adds real interest to your trek, mountaineering or ski adventure where strong lasting friendships are made which can become an experience of a lifetime.
Sunstone also donates 5% of all Adventure Trip's prices to a voluntary organisation specific to that local area. For example trekking in the Khumbu (Everest) Region in Nepal, the Himlayan Rescue Association (HRA) are an excellent voluntary organisation providing education to trekkers & mountaineers on Altitude, creating awareness and organising rescue and retrieval to distressed mountain users. The classic lecture they hold in both Pheriche (Khumbu Region) and Manang (on the Annapurna Circuit Trek - Annapurna Conservation Area Project) provides excellent information on altitude awareness and the risks of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Cerebal Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HACE) and how to prevent and act should these effects become real.
In Gulmarg, Kashmir Sunstone are looking forward to furthering some of the work pioneered by the New Zealand Ski Club of Kashmir which is a voluntary organisation started by Martin Jones (Christhurch, NZ) and Billa Bakshi (Gulmarg, Kashmir). Eight voluntary international instructors donated their time and efforts to teach local Kashmiri kids from the Gulmarg area. This was a great iniatative and we hope to donate funds from our Adventure Trips towards this to help the kids hire ski equipment and pay for lift passes. Often the local Gulmarg kids have grown up in the area but haven't been fortunate enough or not had the opportunity to learn to ski, which seems a shame with such an amazing mountain so close to them!
For further info get in touch with Paul on: sunstoneadventures@gmail.com
Further web resources: Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) www.himalayanrescue.org
Info on the New Zealand Ski Club of Kashmir can be found on www.gulmargheliski.com
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