After completing my +2 exam, I took a break for quite some time before deciding on the course to join for my Bachelor degree as it is the major turning point for any student at that stage for him/her to make a solid career based choice. Like every student who wants to pursue a good career option, I was also seeking a similar opportunity. Because I have always been interested in adventure and adventure-based activities, I wanted to pursue a tourism-related course. However, one big question that was hovering in my mind was as to what kind, of course, will help me fulfill my wishes of pursuing an adventure-based career in tourism?
I knew about some of the institutions that have courses in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality. Still, I also discerned that these courses will not lead in the direction of my passion for adventure. This was a huge dilemma for me to come over with.
One day it so happened that I was scrolling through some social media page and in the newsfeed read about the Bachelor of Mountaineering Studies (BMS). Upon exploring it better, I realized that my teacher of travel and tourism shared it from +2 and it was then that I came to know that the course had been newly launched by the Nepal Mountain Academy (NMA). After reading the contents displayed, I went through the official website thoroughly and called my teacher for further information. He then recommended me to consult with the academic advisor of NMA. I was definitely excited about the subjects that are incorporated in the course along with the practical trips in each semester. By that time, I had finally decided to take up Bachelor of Mountaineering as the subject of my choice. To get the admission and fulfill the criteria, I filled out the CMAT form from the college and subsequently passed the test. CMAT test was followed by a round of interview after which the final results for the admission was published in which I found my name.
I was quite clear in my mind that the main objective of mine to study the BMS course is to become an academically sound professional mountain expert as I know that in our country Nepal, there is a very less number of professional mountaineers, mountain guides, and mountain experts. As such, the country requires more qualified human resources for mountaineering. Therefore, I want to be an academically trained expert in the field of Mountaineering and Adventure.
At current, I am in the sixth semester, and my experience till this time has been fairly good. The course has been steered as per my expectation and anticipation. As the course is affiliated with the Faculty of Management of the Tribhuvan University, subjects like English, Principal of Management, Business Statistics and Maths, etc. are widely incorporated. These subjects sometimes tend to become challenging nevertheless shall be the foundation for our tourism-based entrepreneurial skills in the days to come. The faculty members are also very welcoming and approachable. They are the highly reputed lecturers and professors of tourism in Nepal.
Recently, we completed 7 days of introductory rock climbing training session, a cultural tour, trekking up to a base camp, and peak climbing of <6000 meters as a requirement of the practical training trip for every semesters semester. This particular session was very exhilarating for all the students as we learned many techniques, ideas, knowledge, and useful gears about climbing. This training has strongly made me feel that doing practical and trainings, along with the classroom lectures, is the best way of experiential learning.
The superlative part of this course is that it has been designed to deliver quality knowledge to the students about tourism, mountaineering, and academia. I have found this course to be convenient and realistic. Not only the efficiency in terms of teaching and learning, but the students by the end of the course become real mountaineers as the final few practical requirements include climbing mountains of 6000-7000 meters. Hence, this course is unique in design which provides a platform to study, observe, learn and experience the very genuine facts about mountain tourism and its possibilities in the national as well as the global context. At this point, I am content and gratified that Nepal Mountain Academy is the first educational institution in the world for Mountaineering studies and I consider myself to be very fortunate to be a part of Nepal Mountain Academy.
I also believe that the scope of this course is wide stretched as even though Nepal is one of the best adventure seekers' destinations in the whole world, the country has been lagging on the global tourism map because of the domination of the experience-based industry.
As the first course, many loops in management can still be worked upon. It is also quite a challenge to run such a course. For instance, the time management to keep a balance between the lecture sessions, and the practical sessions, the climatic adversities, the availability of qualified instructors are some of them. Similarly, infrastructural limitations are persistent at present for the Academy as a result of which it is soon to be shifted to a suitable location.
Finally, in the current situation of Nepal where the educational intuitions are mostly centralized to Kathmandu valley, Nepal Mountain Academy is distinctive as it has categorically initiated to lay its college's setup also in the lap of Himalayas in the beautiful village of Garma, Solukhumbu where it aims to deliver various essential academic and technical knowledge-based activities to provide quality mountaineering and professional learning experiences to the scholars, academics and students. Therefore, I would like to express my sincere appreciation towards the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation of the Nepal Government for equipping Nepal Mountain Academy to run Bachelor of Mountaineering Studies, Master of Adventure Tourism Studies followed by soon to be launched, Master of Mountaineering and Mountain Sciences.
