Blog
Here you’ll find our blog posts, listed by main category. To receive posts by email as they appear, sign up for updates here!
- Animals and Nature
- Art and books
- Athletes
- COVID-19
- Climbing and Trekking
- Climbing clinic
- Climbing competitions and Events
- Comedy
- Dental camps
- Earthquakes
- Expert Interviews
- HRA
- Health and Medical
- Hospital
- Mount Everest
- Musa Masala
- Musa Newsletter
- Nepal
- News stories
- Nonprofits
- Our friends
- Outdoor Medicine
- Scholarships
- Search and Rescue
- Sherpa culture
- Sherpas
- Specialized Cards
- The Good Trekker
- Tributes
- Wongchu Sherpa
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Hospital Opening in Nepal! Celebrating Wongchhu Sherpa's Dream
On October 12th, 2022, the dream of the late Wongchhu Sherpa, to provide a hospital for his home village, came true. Musa Masala is excited to share the details of the day with you.
The difficulties the local population had in seeking proper care before the hospital was built became a present day reality when poor weather made getting to the opening ceremony difficult to impossible!
Lots of too-late monsoon rain kept Dr. Luanne Freer, one of the driving forces behind the project, stranded in Lukla, along with the entire Wilderness Medical Society trek team. Pem Dorjee Sherpa of Imperial Expeditions and the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation was also stuck…
Announcing: Our New Store!
Jam Jam, Musas!! We have so much going on with our projects with nursing scholarships, our climbing competition, the official opening of the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital, and our upcoming dental camp and live Facebook/YouTube show, but we want to take a second and introduce you to our brand new Musa Masala online store!!
We are very grateful to Shannon Edwards who put the store together.
Beginners' Climbing Competition in Nepal!
Come on everybody, time to go climbing! The Musa Masala team, along with Wongchhu Peak Promotion and Nirvana Gears, as well as Crimpanzee Adventure Hub, are holding a beginners' climbing competition on October 16th!!
Crimpanzee is an amazing facility and we are so happy to be working with them on this event. This is an awesome opportunity for climbers who have never entered a competition, or who have only entered a couple competitions, to get out there and see what it is like. Brand new climbers can see what it is all about. It's about fun!!
Cleaning Up Mt. Everest, an article for Wilderness Medicine Magazine
Thank you to the Wilderness Medical Society and the team at Wilderness Medicine Magazine. We have an article in the Headwaters section in the latest issue, featuring our program with Thom Pollard, Mt Everest: Who Takes The Trash Out?Find the article here:
Musa Masala: Who We Are, What We Do
We thought for this post we would put the brakes on, pull over and have a little chat: What is Musa Masala all about and what do we do?
So here you go. Always remember you can contact us here if you have any questions. We hope you get some good answers and that you will help support our projects.
The Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital Tapting - Update!
We are so proud to present the latest from the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital. This film was shot and edited by the incredible Yaman Shakya and Bibek Bartaula. (They are also awesome singers.) It gives a great overview of the story behind the hospitals founding and comes right up to our visit to paint the pediatric room.
We hope it gives you all some perspective on what has been accomplished by the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation to open the hospital from just an idea on a hill in 2016.
The Pacific Crest Trail - here comes Kristen Pilarcik!
Stretching from Mexico to Canada, the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail is 2,653 miles from border to border. In elevation it goes from 43m(140ft) to 4,009m(13,153ft). It was designated a National Scenic Trail in 1968. It literally goes from the desert to the mountains, a challenging change of climate and a totally immersive view of the beauty of this land. Passing through California, Oregon and Washington States, thru hikers come from around the world to trek the PCT.
Mount Rainier, The Next Step
Climbing season is upon us, and now we have seen a monster spring season in the Himalaya for climbing the big mountains, with amazing weather windows of calm winds and warm sun on the biggest peaks. Everest had a amazing window for climbers this year. In Washington state Mt Rainier is the big mountain that has the ability to go from nice guy to evil beast before you know it. For this post Matt Carvey, having just graduated from medical school tells the story of his winter mountaineering and Denali prep course with one of the best companies in the business, Alpine Ascents International. This course gives you a great feel for a longer expedition type climb on a big mountain. Let’s let Matt tell the story as we check out Mt Rainier. Jam Jam !! Matt!
A Puja for our Friends
For the first time in three years, the Musa Masala team was back together. Arriving at the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital Tapting at the end of April, we had come to paint the pediatric room in honor of our friend, Dr. Jennifer Konopka. Jen had been a powerful force in Musa Masala and a big supporter of the hospital project.
Remembering Megan Rand
Recently we all suffered a horrible loss. Our friend and fellow Musa, Megan Rand, passed after being diagnosed with cancer in June of 2021. Megan was 39 years old. She was a physician assistant and former paramedic and her passing has left us once again at a loss for why special, talented, kind and loving people are leaving us all behind.
Musa friend Mike Demas on the Border in Poland with Americares
We have had a couple posts from our good friend Mike Demas. Mike just came back from a deployment with Americares. This is a email he sent to us with links to some of the great work he has been a part of. He just returned from the Polish border with Ukraine where he documented medical supplies being brought into the country. Here's the video he worked on, Angels Never Sleep - Volunteers Deliver Aid and Hope in Ukraine.
Musa Masala Hypothermia Cards are here!!
Available now in our store, this card is a simple tool to help you recognize hypothermia, prevent it and treat it.
When going on an outdoor adventure, planning is key to a safe and fun time. Be honest in assessing your skill level for the activity. It’s easy to overestimate your skills and get in trouble. When in doubt, ask a professional guide, ranger or coach for help and information.
Musa Masala 2021: Our Year in Review
Everyone of us at Musa Masala would like to thank those of you who have helped support our projects in 2021. The challenges of continuing while being healthcare workers during this COVID-19 pandemic has been great. Certainly there are many things we have not been able to do, but what we did accomplish has felt significant.
What I Learned About Resilience on an Icelandic Trek
Musa Masala welcomes 2022 with a topic we think all of us can relate to, resilience. What does it mean to you? Very different things at very different times, we think. Tamar Izcovich returns with a look at resilience that stopped us cold, and started us thinking. How we speak to others about this and what others are going through should always run through how we speak to friends, family and patients. This story will change our approach, and we hope it helps you as well.
Thank you, Tamar. Your posts are always a lesson in how we move through life. Jam Jam!!
Musa Stokes New Hampshire
Have you ever been to New Hampshire? What a beautiful state. The White Mountain Range is absolutely amazing—rugged, colorful and so easy to get to! But best of all, New Hampshire has Thom Pollard.
After our first two shows on our Facebook/YouTube, we decided we need to sit down with Thom to start planning our next round of shows. His proximity to Mt. Washington sealed it and we headed north for some some hiking and serious planning sessions.
From the start, Thom and Kristen, Thom's girlfriend and a super athlete, were simply amazing.
COVID-19 Recovery: Jeff Sweat Sings for his Voice
You may remember that back in February of 2021, we did two posts on Jeff Sweat, a writer in Los Angeles who, although his entire family caught COVID, was the only one to be hospitalized. Jeff was healthy with no underlying medical conditions at the time but he spent 28 days in the ICU. Jeff was intubated and had a tracheotomy, where an opening is placed in the neck for an airway. These procedures, along with the harm that COVID did to his body, gave Jeff great difficulty with his voice when he was released from the hospital.
News for Musas: Health-Care Workers, Climate Change and an Awesome Boy Scout
Current events we feel are significant in medicine, outdoor recreation and our environment.
Hey everyone, today we are starting a new monthly post where we will highlight recent news events, stories and research we feel may be valuable or entertaining for you. We will try to provide a variety of information, so it's not too light or heavy. Let's see if we can create a perfect blend to inform and entertain without bumming you out too much!
Traditional Sherpa Fashion with Ang Diku Sherpa
Hey everyone, we are bringing back one of our favorite and most popular posts, Sherpa Fashion, by Ang Diku Sherpa. This was one of our earliest posts at Musa Masala and it is sought out online for all the great details on the beautiful clothes worn during festivals and formal events in the Sherpa culture.
A lot has changed at Musa Masala since it was originally published. Now, Ang Diku is the General Manager of Wongchhu Peak Promotion. She's also instrumental in the success of the construction and operation of the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital.
Enjoy the post and contact us if you have any questions about Sherpa fashion and traditional dress. We will bring you more soon! Jam jam!!