Elite Exped

Born of the mountains, in the mountains

Elite Exped specialises in delivering tailored guiding experiences on the world’s highest mountains. We’re here to help you to follow in our footsteps in some of the toughest terrain on the planet.

Each of our company directors, Nimsdai, Mingma David, and Mingma Tenzi, has notched up Guinness World Records for their feats in the Himalayas. All three were part of the first team to stand on the summit of K2 in winter, in January 2021. Elite Exped grew out of their long standing climbing partnership, a friendship forged by record breaking feats in some of the most unforgiving environments on Earth.

But Elite Exped isn’t just a company created by world class mountaineers, it’s a company created by world class Nepalese mountaineers. Our heritage gives us a unique perspective on the mountains - one that combines a desire to conquer summits with an ancient, ancestral respect for them.

The Himalayas are our place of work, but they’re also the place where many of our friends and families live. We believe that these mountains should be open to anyone, but they must be preserved for everyone to enjoy.

Bridging cultural divides

Our background gives us an ability to bridge the gap between western and Himalayan climbing cultures, drawing on the best of both. We have extensive operational experience in all of the world’s major mountain ranges, and can assemble tried and trusted Elite teams anywhere on the planet. But we have a particular advantage when it comes to operating in the Himalayas. An intimate knowledge of the way things work on the ground helps ensure that everything runs like clockwork when you’re 8,000m up in the death zone.

The safest pair of hands possible

We oversee every aspect of expedition planning and preparation to ensure that it meets our exacting safety standards. Our team’s extensive experience allows us to keep everything in-house - from ferrying in food, to finding icefall routes, to fixing our own ropes. This means we’re never left reliant on third parties.

The success of this approach is born out by our record - when working together, our directors have a 100 percent record on 8,000m summits. Perhaps more importantly, they have a 100 percent safety record too. 

Leading from the front

While some prefer to direct operations from a back office, our founders lead from the front. Nimsdai, Mingma David and Mingma Tenzi were born to be mountaineers and mountain guides, and continue to lead as many Elite Exped trips as they can every season.

At Elite Exped, we know why you climb, because we feel the same way. Our shared appreciation of your objectives only makes us more determined to help you achieve your goals. We want to show you how it feels to stand on top of the world, and bring you back down safely.

Some direct operations from a back office. Our company directors, Nimsdai, Mingma David and Mingma Tenzi, prefer to lead in another way, from the front.