KATHMANDU: The Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal (HRA) has launched an eight-day mountain rescue training programme, the first of its kind in Nepal to integrate technical rescue operations with advanced mountain medicine under a single curriculum, officials said on Tuesday.

Supported by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the training brings together a diverse group of frontline professionals including personnel from Nepal Police's Disaster Management Section, professional guides, mountaineers and medical doctors. The programme began on Tuesday morning in Kathmandu.

The technical rescue component is being facilitated by the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), which has deployed IFMGA-certified mountain guides as instructors. The medical segment is led by a team of doctors specialising in high-altitude emergency medicine. The curriculum covers crevasse rescue, steep-terrain evacuations, high-altitude illness management and disaster response protocols.

HRA said the training was structured around the recognition that effective mountain rescue requires seamless coordination between technical and medical teams — a gap that previous programmes in Nepal had not formally addressed in an integrated format.

Established in 1973, HRA is a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to reducing casualties in the Nepal Himalaya. It operates aid posts in Manang and Pheriche and maintains the HRA Everest ER medical camp in the Everest region.