The WILD YAK Team

About the WILD YAK Team

The success of the Trip depends on both the personal condition of each participant and the experience of our Team. WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS’ team has been carefully selected according to its expertise in the particular environment and personal aptitudes.

The WILD YAK Team is thus well-trained, courteous and helpful. It consists of dynamic licensed guides with an outstanding climbing experience in trekking and mountaineering with ascents of some of the world’s highest mountains such as Mount Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Lhotse, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu, Cho-Oyu, Shishapangma, Gasherbrum I & II, Nanga Parbat and Ama Dablam.

“Teamwork begins with building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.”
– Patrick Lencioni

We believe that the best way to explore the landscape and culture during your journey is to be guided by the local people but in your respective language. Our trekking and expedition Guides are fluently speaking numerous languages such as English, French, German, Italian and Chinese. “It is always funny to hear local jokes in your language told by a local guide.”

WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS is proud to support our local Himalayan WILD YAK Team by providing them with a fair salary, encouraging them to take mountaineering workshops, wilderness first aid training, environmental preservation courses, garbage management, team leadership, and language refreshers on a regular basis.

Wild yak Team International

Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann
Co-Founder

Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann
Co-Founder

Originating from the Swiss-German part of Switzerland, and living in the French part of Switzerland, she spent the majority of her childhood in the mountain region, Bernese Oberland, in Switzerland. As a sport lawyer, she is working part-time at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, since 15 years.

Sport and mountaineering are part of Andrea’s life, which lead her to become a member of the Swiss Ski Mountaineering Team. Practicing high-level sports from many years, competing in Alpine skiing, rowing and then ski mountaineering and trail running, helped her to become a winner of the legendary ski mountaineering competition “The Patrouille des Glaciers”, or the “CCC of the famous Ultra Trail Mont Blanc” among many more competitions.

Woman of challenges, her passion for the mountains and high altitude, introduced her to the Himalayan expeditions of some of the highest peaks on earth: Cho Oyu, 8201m, Manaslu, 8163m, Shishapangma, 8013m, Himlung Himal, 7126m, Ama Dablam 6856m and other numerous 6000 meters peaks in the Himalayas. On 21 Mai 2016, she stood with her husband Norbu Sherpa on the highest summit on earth: Mount Everest, 8848m. As 9th Swiss women only, she became part of the exclusive circle of Women Everest Summiteers.

Andrea speaks fluently various languages: Swiss German, French, German, English and Italian.

Believing in high-quality service and responsible tourism, her aim is to give people the opportunity to discover the magnificence of the mountain world and to help support the local people.
Thierry Garnier
Technical advisor of WILD YAK (UIAGM Mountain Guide)

Thierry Garnier
Technical advisor of WILD YAK (UIAGM Mountain Guide)

Thierry’s passion for the mountains came while he was working in the gendarmerie, where he found his way! A rewarding journey that led him from the Alpes de Haute Provence -Jausiers- via Chamonix to finally arrive at Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

More than fifteen years within the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne, during which he got the diploma of Mountain Guide, the sesame that will let him explore the Alps, and other parts of the world! These years have also enabled him to acquire the rigor and know-how needed to carry out the missions that he was facing: a rich training that is very useful in the mountains.

Thierry is a passionated about the mountains, the requirements needed to be in such an environment and he is always of excellent advise.

His favourite quote: “the key is constantly threatened by the trivial,” dixit the poet René Char. “Often unprofitable or unnecessary in the short term, it nevertheless reveals fundamental … in the long run.” This may be important for you: a mountain race, a ski tour, an expedition that will permit you to let go from sweltering days. They will have “explosive flavour of this untreated apple that would be filled when your appetite sweets bags condemn you to repeat gluttony attacks.”

He has an extensive experience of guiding in different parts of the Alps and abroad.

Thierry speaks French and English.
Marcel Marti
UIAGM Mountain Guide

Marcel Marti
UIAGM Mountain Guide

Marcel grew up in Grindelwald, in the heart of the Bernese Alps, Switzerland. So it was only natural that he spent a lot of time in nature and the mountains when he was young.

Today, as a mountain guide, he wants to transmit this joy for the mountain world to his guests and allow them to live unforgettable experiences. Marcel always looks forward to seeing the happy faces of the participants after a mountain trip. He is enthusiastic about all facets of mountaineering in all four seasons.

Marcel was also a top athlete and member of the Swiss ski mountaineering team. He thus participated in many international competitions.

Spoken languages: German, French, English and Italian
Nicolas Bonnet
UIAGM Mountain Guide

Nicolas Bonnet
UIAGM Mountain Guide

Originally from the Briançon region (France), Nicolas has been a UIAGM High Mountain Guide since 2009.

Nicolas works mainly in the Alps. Whether in France, Italy or in the Alps, he transmits his passion for the mountains with a quiet strength.

In parallel to his job as a mountain guide, Nicolas was technical director of many international ski mountaineering races (World, European and World Cup Championships) after a great career as an athlete.

Nicolas speaks French and English.
Lara Amoros
UIAGM MOUNTAIN GUIDE

Lara Amoros
UIAGM MOUNTAIN GUIDE
Geoffroy ARVIS
UIAGM MOUNTAIN GUIDE

Geoffroy ARVIS
UIAGM MOUNTAIN GUIDE

Geoffroy Arvis has been a fully certified Mountain Guide (UIAGM / IFMGA) for well over 15 years. He has a wealth of experience in the Western Alps, namely in the Mont Blanc area and the southern ranges of the French Alps, not only as an independent mountain guide but also from his former career as an offer with the PGHM (Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne) a police department that is responsible for mountain rescues in the French Alps.

Geoffroy is popular with our clients for his patience and perseverance, which is important especially given the challenges guides face on our Mont Blanc ascents.

He lives with his partner close to the Lake of Geneva and his English is excellent.
Ronald Patrick
WILD YAK Photographer

Ronald Patrick
WILD YAK Photographer

Ronald Patrick grew up in Santiago de Chile. After completing his studies on Business and Economics, and working in the corporate world in San Francisco for 3 years, he decided to undertake his passion for photography and focus on stories that are important to him.

Since 2008, he has been working in the photo-documentary field as well as in corporate photography. He has worked on numerous personal projects and commissions all over the world. His work has been published internationally and exhibited in different galleries and photography festivals in the United States, England, Spain, Georgia, Japan, Cambodia and Chile.

He is a contributor to Getty Images and his work is represented by LUZ Agency in Italy.

After a 3-year world-trip, Ronald (Ron) moved to Lausanne Switzerland, where he works as a freelancer and teaches photography workshops. In his free time he enjoys the beautiful Swiss alps while hiking and skiing.

Ronald is thrilled to guide you on your photography ventures by improving your technical & visual photography skills during WILD YAK’s weekend workshops and bring his natural passion for photography along. Any level of experience is welcome – we will adapt to your skills.

Ronald speaks Spanish, English & a little Portuguese.

You can check out his work at www.ronaldpatrick.com.

Wild Yak TeamHimalaya

Nepal Hospitality Team

Norbu Sherpa
Managing Director NEPAL, BHUTAN, TIBET

Norbu Sherpa
Managing Director NEPAL, BHUTAN, TIBET

Norbu Sherpa was born in the small mountain village of Ghunsa at 3800m, situated eastern of Nepal, beneath of the third highest peak of the world: mount Kanchenjunga (8586m). After having spent his childhood running after yaks, he was sent to Darjeeling (India), the land of tea plantation, for his studies.

After working two years in the office of a local travel company, his passion for exploring and mountaineering brought him out of the office. He started his career in the Himalaya as a kitchen boy in Trekking, where, thanks to his determination and vision, he finally became Sirdar of big expeditions to the highest summits on earth. It gave him the opportunity to lead and climb numerous of the highest mountains:

Everest, 8848m (8 times), Lhotse, 8546m (1 time), Cho Oyu, 8201m (4 times), Dhaulagiri, 8167m (1 times), Manaslu, 8163m (3 times), Gasherbrum II, 8035m (2 times), Shishapangma,8013m (2 time), Muztagh Ata, 7540m (1 time), Annapurna IX, 7525m (2 times), Peak Lenin, 7135m (1 time), Himlung Himal, 7126m (1 time), Baruntse, 7120m (1 time), Lakpa-Ri, 7063m (2 times), Mount Kun, 7035m (2 times), Ama Dablam, 6856 m (2 times) and many other peaks of 6000 meters in the Himalayas.

In 2008, Norbu Sherpa was one of the main protagonist in the Swiss documentary movie SHERPA’S The True Heroes of Mount Everest. The movie shows the hard work of the climbing sherpas in extreme conditions during an Everest expedition with clients, for which Norbu was the Sirdar. The movie was rewarded as best documentary movies at numerous alpine film festivals.

Norbu Sherpa figures also in numerous newspapers and magazines from all around the World: The New York Times, SPIEGEL ONLINE, SRF (Swiss TV), DW, watson.ch.

He traveled around the globe visiting namely Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, China/Tibet, Sichuan, Kirgizstan, India, Pakistan.

Norbu speaks fluently various languages: Nepali, Tibetan, English, Indian.

The vision to empower the young generation and inspire the benefit of traveling to the people are Norbu’s principal aspirations behind the creation of WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS.
Keyur Lama
Manager

Keyur Lama
Manager
Keepa Sherpa
Account Manager

Keepa Sherpa
Account Manager

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Narayan Shrestha
Hospitality Transportation Manager

Narayan Shrestha
Hospitality Transportation Manager

Narayan’s, also known as Narayan dai, dedication towards WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS and our guests, as well as his keen character and punctuality makes him a favorite person in the WILD YAK Team.

Experienced driver, he joined WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS in 2018 and since then takes care of the majority of our guests transportation. Through his long-term driving career, first as a taxi driver before joining the tourism sector, on all kind of roads of Nepal it has acquired excellent driving skills.

He takes is responsibilities very seriously!

Expeditions & Climbing Team

Norbu Sherpa
Co-Founder & Expedition Sirdar

Norbu Sherpa
Co-Founder & Expedition Sirdar

After working two years in a local travel company’s office, his passion for exploring and mountaineering brought him out of the office. He started his career in the Himalayas as a kitchen boy in Trekking. Thanks to his determination and vision, he finally became Sirdar of big expeditions to the highest summits on earth. It allowed him to lead and climb numerous of the highest mountains:

Everest, 8848m (8 times), Lhotse, 8546m (1 time), Cho Oyu, 8201m (4 times), Dhaulagiri, 8167m (1 time), Manaslu, 8163m (3 times), Gasherbrum II, 8035m (2 times), Shishapangma,8013m (2 times), Muztagh Ata, 7540m (1 time), Annapurna IX, 7525m (2 times), Peak Lenin, 7135m (1 time), Himlung Himal, 7126m (1 time), Baruntse, 7120m (1 time), Lakpa-Ri, 7063m (2 times), Mount Kun, 7035m (2 times), Ama Dablam, 6856 m (2 times) and many other peaks of 6000 meters in the Himalayas.

In 2008, Norbu Sherpa was one of the main protagonists in the Swiss documentary movie SHERPA’S The True Hero’s of Mount Everest. The movie shows the hard work of the climbing sherpas in extreme conditions during an Everest expedition with clients, for which Norbu was the Sirdar. The movie was rewarded as the best documentary movie at numerous Alpin film festivals.

Norbu Sherpa also figures in numerous newspapers and magazines from all around the World: The New York Times, SPIEGEL ONLINE, SRF (Swiss TV), DW, watson.ch.

Norbu Sherpa was born in the small mountain village of Ghunsa at 3800m, situated est of Nepal, beneath the third highest peak of the world: mount Kanchenjunga (8586m). After spending his childhood running after yaks, he was sent to Darjeeling (India), the land of tea plantation, for his studies. He then traveled around the globe visiting Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, China/Tibet, Sichuan, Kirgizstan, India, and Pakistan. He speaks fluently various languages: English, Indian, Tibetan, Nepali.

The vision to empower the young generation and inspire the benefit of traveling to the people is Norbu’s principal aspirations behind creating WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS.
Tashi Chhumbel Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Tashi Chhumbel Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Norbu Sherpa’s brother, Tashi Sherpa, is a new generation climbing sherpa. Dynamic and versatile, he shares the values of WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS.

Kanchenjunga (3rd highest peak in the World) region is the hometown of Tashi, which shows his pure strength in the mountain. His funny character attracts people in the mountain. He jokes a lot and makes fun during the adventure.

A man with perfect blends of gifted mountaineering skills and excellent leadership quality, technically sound, gained much knowledge about mountain rescue. He has been leading our Mt. Everest Expedition continuously for the last few years, with always fantastic outcomes.

Accompanying clients as a climbing sherpa, Tashi had the opportunity to successfully climb some of the highest mountains in the Himalayas, including Everest in the company of his brother Norbu Sherpa.

Tashi has been working at Wild Yak Expeditions since 2014. In addition to his role as an expedition Sherpa, Tashi guides WYE clients on the Himalayan trails and manages some of WYE’s administrative tasks.
Kami Temba Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Kami Temba Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Born at the foothills of Mt Everest, Kami is a very hardworking, honest, and dedicated WILD YAK Team member. From childhood, he is known as a hard worker and smart thinker.

Though he is 26, he has already climbed Mt. Everest 3 x successfully, Mt. Manaslu 3 x, experienced many mountains. His favorite place is Cho Oyu. One of his greatest memory is K2.

He initially started as an assistant guide in the Everest region. He likes climbing more than trekking. So at the age of 30, he has lots of experiences climbing 8000 mountains. His dedication towards our clients makes him a demanded expedition Sherpa.
Pemba Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Pemba Sherpa
Expedition sherpa Guide

Born in Pangboche, in the famous Everest region, Pemba is very attached to his region. He grew up at the foothills of the highest summits on earth in a stunning landscape.

He extensively involves in the tourism sector after clearing his bachelor’s from Tribhuvan University Nepal. Pemba’s excellent technical skills and experience in climbing mountain makes him a strong member of the WILD YAK Team.

Pemba has already a great experience of climbing 8000 peaks. His enthusiasm towards the mountain keeps WILD YAK’S Trips positive and successful.
Ngima Tsering Sherpa
Expedition sherpa guide

Ngima Tsering Sherpa
Expedition sherpa guide

Originated from Solokhunbu (the lower part of Everest region), Ngima has grown up at the foothills of the highest mountains on earth.

His strong sense of responsibility, experience and enthusiasm makes him a dedicated member of the WILD YAK Team. He is punctual and takes his tasks with seriousness and professionalism. He is always happy to provide lots of information to our guests about the mountain and the local culture.

Ngima is part of the young with lots of energy and well-skilled expedition sherpas, which lead him to many successful expeditions summits.

He has summited 3 x Mt. Everest, 1x Manaslu, 2x Ama Dablam, and many other 6000-peaks.
Gyalsten Sherpa
Expedition sherpa guide

Gyalsten Sherpa
Expedition sherpa guide

Humble, gentle and discret, Gyalsten is for many years part of the WILD YAK Team. Originated from Solokumbu (the lower part of the Everest region), Gyalsten is very attached to the surrounding mountain atmosphere of his home-region.

His courage, strength and expertise in the mountains are very well-appreciated from our guests.

Up to date, besides many other mountain experiences, he has climbed numerous 8000 mountains. Gyalsten gives always his best to succeed and realize our participants’ dream of the standing one day of a summit of the Himalaya.

Gyalsten speaks Nepali, English, Hindi and French.

Last but not least, he has always positive vibes!
Hisse Gyalpo Sherpa
Chef cook of Expeditions

Hisse Gyalpo Sherpa
Chef cook of Expeditions

Hisse is well-known to WILD YAK’s guests by greeting them in the mountain with his mouth-watering recipes.

From his early age, he got the chance to work as an assistant guide in the mountain where he has also developed his cooking skills. He has trekked multiple times in many regions of Nepal, including the famous Everest region.

In 2008, he came from the Kanchenjunga region to Kathmandu looking for a good job. His preference and hardworking character lead him to work in the Tourism industry. He decided to become an official trekking guide with cooking skills licensed from the Tourism Centre and Greenland Hotel Management.

Hisse’s bakery items made while in the mountains are always mesmerising.

WILD YAK TREKKING GUIDE TEAM

Chhongba Sherpa
French & English Trekking Guide

Chhongba Sherpa
French & English Trekking Guide

His diligent smiling face will always keep our guests positive during their adventures.

Nowadays in his twenties, Chhongba, was born in Solukhumbu at the foothills of Mt. Everest. At the early age, he got the chance to be an assistant guide while going on trekking with his relatives. Such experiences made him become a successful licensed trekking guide.

During his numerous trekkings around the Himalayas, he started to learn French. He then decided to sharpen his speaking skills in French language by taking intensive French classes.

His explanations and attention paid to our guests are very well-appreciated.

Chhongba is part of our WILD YAK Team since 2019.
Sohan Gurung
French Speaking Trekking Guide

Sohan Gurung
French Speaking Trekking Guide

Originated from Bharpak Gorkha, at the foothills of Mt. Manaslu, Sohan is a humble and hardworking WILD YAK Team member.

After finishing his graduation in Kathmandu, he has started his trekking guide career leading French groups since 2014.

He has extensive experience in most of the popular trekking destinations of Nepal, including Everest, Annapurna and Manaslu regions.
Tshering Lama
French & English Trekking Guide

Tshering Lama
French & English Trekking Guide

Early 30th years old, Tsering is originated from the Langtang valley in the Eastern part of Nepal.

Involved for a couple of years in guiding trekkings, Tsering became the chance during those years to discover many places of Nepal. His fluency in communication about culture and traditions is one of his main ingredient to WILD YAK successful trips.

He has excellent knowledge about Buddhism and Himalayan culture. His enthusiasm to explain about the Himalayan culture and traditions is always very appreciated by our guests.

Tsering speaks Tibetan (Sherpa), Nepali, English and French.

Season

Duration

Region

Activity

Type

Fitness

Destinations

Experiences

The WILD YAK Team

About the WILD YAK Team

Wild yak Team International

Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann

Thierry Garnier

Marcel Marti

Nicolas Bonnet

Lara Amoros

Geoffroy ARVIS

Ronald Patrick