Blog
Here you’ll find our blog posts, listed by main category. To receive posts by email as they appear, sign up for updates on the homepage!
A Puja for our Friends we Lost
In late April of 2022 the Musa Masala team came together to celebrate the incredible lives of our friends who were involved in the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital project who so sadly and too early left this world. They all devoted their lives to helping others and strove to make the world that much better for us all — and they never got to see the finished hospital open.
We planned a puja ceremony to honor their memory and our love for them. It has taken a while but here is the video of the ceremony, filmed with permission of the monks at the Khamding Monastery in Nepal.
3 Awesome Holiday Gifts + Discounts
We're thrilled to share that the 2nd Musa Masala Indoor Climbing Competition was held at Crimpanzee Adventure Hub in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 6th. This was the only major competition for climbers in Nepal, it was a huge success!
Learn more about it in this story from The Himalayan Times. Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes blogpost – The Times got the scoop before we could spill the beans...
Search and Rescue Dogs: Interview with Jana Thompson
Welcome to another Musa Masala presentation on Search and Rescue. This post will focus on a fascinating and exciting area of working with dogs to help find lost persons or body recovery. We are fortunate that Musa’s own Maighdlin Anderson is a member of the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group and she introduced me to Jana Thompson, a dog handler with AMRG.
I bet you are going to learn something here. Jana has taken the time to give us a pretty cool overview about these super special dogs, and their handlers! Including how heavy their training schedule is as they prepare to deploy at a moment's notice.
We will bring you more stories on search dogs and we will expand into different areas where dogs are making a difference in SAR and in medicine.
Special thanks to Jana and everyone at the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group, including volunteers who are ready to do what needs to get done. Jam Jam!!
The Musa Masala Intermediate Lead Climbing Competition 2023!
The Musa Masala team, along with our co-sponsor, Wongchhu Peak Promotion, is back with our second climbing event! Our goal is to make competing at an international level a real choice for young Nepali climbers. We consider providing fun and challenging competitions a key part of the recipe for success.
Nirvana Gears will again supply each climber with an awesome shirt-and-shorts climbing outfit.
Come join us at the amazing Crimpanzee Climbing Hub in Kathmandu, Nepal, on November 6th for a day of fun, food, climbing and friendship. We want to see you there. Jam Jam!!
Teaching Nepali Children About Menstruation, Dental Care and Hygiene
Since the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital opened in April, 2022, it has enhanced the ability of the people in the area to have healthier families. Anyone can walk up the hill to the hospital and receive excellent primary healthcare from a dedicated staff. Knowing that some patients are too old or sick to make the walk to the hospital has led to some unique outreach programs.
We are so honored to have Dr. Gyaltsen Gurung, the physician leading the hospital, here to tell us about two of the outreach programs he has initiated: a class on menstruation and a class on dental hygiene and hand washing. These topics are not covered in the general education at the local schools. Giving young girls the tools and knowledge to understand what is happening with their bodies is paramount to changing the way menstruation is approached in Nepal. Boys are included in the lectures to help educate everyone. Dental hygiene is more important than ever, too, with the influx of sugar drinks that are now available locally.
Painting Party at the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital
In May of 2022 the Musa team gathered together for the first time since the pandemic outbreak at the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital. Here is a video that does a great job of showing the challenges the team faced and the amazing friendships that were formed when this group was brought together.
We send our greatest thanks to the staff of the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital who welcomed us and adapted to our presence while treating a steady stream of patients every day.
The Musa Masala Healthcare Profession Scholarship Program
Here it is. We are behind in providing all of this information about our program, but now you have it! In concert with the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation, Musa Masala provides funds for two students each year at this time, for a complete degree program in healthcare.
The Musa Masala Dental Camp, 2023
We are privileged to have Dr. Anumesh Dahal give us his firsthand account of the second Musa Masala Dental Camp, held at the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital Tapting at the end of April, 2023. We are so grateful for the team he put together to bring the only oral health organization to the area. We are thankful to Dr. Gyaltsen Gurungand the staff at the WSMH for working with us to make this possible.
We also thank our friends, Jason Tartalone at Sergeant Rescue and Pem Dorjee Sherpa of Imperial Expeditions, who helped put up the funding for this camp. Without the donations, we simply could not do this. Jason donated the funds raised during their Spring 2022 Everest Base Camp Trek to help us. Sergeant Rescue is based in Pennsylvania and provides classes in SAR, EMS and wilderness medicine. Pem Dorjee Sherpa is a friend of Musa Masala and a board member of the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation.
Hey, Don’t Get Lost!
If you have ever gotten confused and turned around in the wilderness, had that fog layer come down outta nowhere or somehow gotten on the wrong trail, you know what a deeply disturbing and dreadful feeling that can bring. How about we try to not let that happen?
Honestly, it probably will happen if you're out a lot over the years, but preparation can make it a non-issue or help you take care of yourself and find your way back to your happy place.
Angela Widler is back with more really important tips and information on how to keep from getting lost, and what to do if misfortune finds you. Read and absorb what search and rescue (SAR) teams want you to know to make your unplanned time in the wilderness short and successful.
We have much more to come in this series. In upcoming posts, we'll go deeper into these topics. We'll also have a handy tips card for you in the near future. So please read on, and let’s hold tight to each other and stay found. Jam Jam!
Animal Experience International in Nepal with Nora Livingstone
Hey, animal lovers, we are back with our friend Nora Livingstone of Animal Experience International! Nora wrote for us a while back. Check that post out here. This time, we asked her to talk about her last trip to Nepal. Find our earlier post on Sneha’s Care here.
Nora has been a great friend of Musa Masala and we are so happy she has shared with us again. We love the dogs, and all animals, of Nepal so this is a meaningful one for us, with a special person who has created an amazing organization, Animal Experience International. Please check out their website. You may very well find that a life changing trip awaits you. Jam Jam!!
3 Ways to Prepare for Your Hike or Expedition
Is there anything worse than a leaking tent, broken shoelace or ripped rain gear when you are on an extended trip? There may be a few worse things, but unexpected happenings that come up on a climb or hike or expedition often make the difference between a no problem moment or really bad, foul time. So here to get you thinking ahead and being prepared (who said that?) is Grant Salisbury.
Grant has backpacked throughout the lower 48 states. He's done about a dozen river trips to remote parts of Alaska and the Yukon territory, primarily packrafting trips in the Brooks Range, as well as 1000+ miles of the Yukon river. He also spent about a decade living in developing countries running landmine clearance operations, typically in areas with little infrastructure such as rural regions of Angola and Mozambique and Colombia.
So as part of our Search and Rescue series here is a short and sweet tale about gear redundancy. Having what you need, something for repairs, and spares just in case. ("Oh my glove just flew off in the wind, off the cliff. Now a marmot has it!") Let’s make these memories good ones. Jam Jam!!
Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital Visit: An Interview with Dr. Marlena Strandir
I have to say this is one of my favorite posts ever. It covers so much of what Musa Masala has been working towards and cares about - a complete and open hospital to provide care in an area where people had few options available, and the people who do it. The ones providing the care and who really make the hospital happen.
How did this magical post come about, you may ask? Well, through the awesome efforts of Dr. Eric Johnson and the hard work of the Himalayan Yokpu Foundation. Dr. Marlena Strandir and her husband, Jason, visited the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital Tapting this past October. They arrived for the opening ceremonies of the hospital with the team from the Wilderness Medical Society. They stayed on for two weeks to work with Dr. Gurung and the staff. You could not find two better people to fit right into the pace of the hospital.
Travel Safer, Travel Smarter: Survival kits with Mykel Hawke
We are so excited to have Mykel Hawke work with us on on our SAR and safety series with this awesome article on survival kits. Mykel Hawke is well known in the survival and preparedness world for his television series on the Discovery Channel, "Man, Women, Wild," and "One Man Army." Mykel is the author of several books. One of them, "Foraging for Survival" written with Douglas Boudreau, is a favorite at Musa Masala and appears on our recommended books list. He has written several books on wilderness survival, as well as "The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast."
Mykel is a former Special Forces Green Beret officer. He retired from the army as a Captain after originally joining as an enlisted man, rising to Sergeant First Class before taking a commission to become an officer. Mykel is also a paramedic and deputy sheriff. He has seen it, done it and written about it — and now he is teaching us how to survive it. Musa Masala is proud to have Mykel here to help keep us and you outta trouble. Jam Jam, Mykel!!
Supporting Nepali Climber, Panchamaya Tamang
Musa Masala is starting the new year off right! With the success of our first climbing competition, we are proud to announce that we are entering into a sponsorship agreement with one of the judges, Panchamaya Tamang. She is well-known in Nepal and one of the up and coming indoor climbers in the country. We're also pleased to present the completed video featuring our first climbing competition, which took place in October, 2022.
We have agreed to help Panchamaya participate in and make her way to as many competitions as possible. We have the shared goals of bringing indoor climbing to the forefront in Nepal, to increase exposure for the sport and advance a new generation of competitive climbers that can represent Nepal to the world.
What is Search and Rescue? with Angela Widler, PA-C
Search and Rescue, SAR. What exactly is it? And who are these people who mostly volunteer to spend their free time looking for lost or injured people in the outdoors? Is there anything scarier than being lost, cold, hungry and tired? Well maybe a few things, like squirrels gnawing at your fingers. But aside from that, none of us want to be in a situation where we have to call for help. So let’s take some time this year to learn a bit about how to stay found in the wilderness, maybe not in an existential sense, but physically.
Let’s learn about what to bring and what to pack for different events and locations, weather and terrain, what to do if your gear breaks, and what to do if you do find yourself lost: who you gonna call?
We are launching something new at musamasala.com. Every other post for the first half of this year will be about staying found or getting found. We have an amazing group of experts from the wilderness medicine community, former military, SAR members, therapists and climbing guides here to share with you what they have learned, along with first hand accounts of people who have survived in tough situations around the world. Along the way we will share extra tips, quizzes and polls on related topics on on social media.
AdventureWomen: Interview with Heather Heverling
Are you looking for a fun adventure and want to travel exclusively with women who share your passion for new and exciting destinations? Well Adventure Women May just be what you are looking for. We had an awesome time talking to Heather Heverling, the President of AdventureWomen, a Travel + Leisure Magazine 2022 World's Best Tour Operator selectee. With over 50 trips to more than 65 countries, they have something for you. In fact, we're excited for AdventureWomen's trek to Everest Base Camp, coming up April 15-30! We highly recommend this incredible opportunity to get out there with the best. Thanks, Heather, for taking the time to talk with us. Jam Jam!!
The Musa Masala Nursing Scholarship Program
This scholarship program is a project we've hoped to start since the beginning of Musa Masala.
The idea to help provide for the medical education for young people living in the area around the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital has been brewing and stewing all through its construction. Now, as the hospital is open and offering quality healthcare, we are proud to say that we have three students in medical programs in Kathmandu who all are from the local area.
