Vertical Adventures Company is fully aware of the fact that unforeseen events might happen any time causing harmful and deadly damage in both physical and material for our valued clients and the staff evolved for tour/trek/expeditions. So, in order to prevent and tackling those crisis and disasters like food poisoning, tempt, minor and major sickness, high altitude sickness, landslide, flood and avalanches, flight delay & cancellation, loss baggage, road blocked, general strike, road accident etc. To prevent and tackle all above mentioned possible crisis situation, Vertical Adventures (VA) is more concerned to establish fast and proper coordination and communication between the accidental spot, concerned and the concerned authorities (such as health services, foreign embassies and the press, police authorities, Read Cross Society, Himalayan Rescue Association) to help and ensure the safety of the victims, the provision of accurate information and the retention of the image of our company and Nepal as a tourist destination.
Type of crisis:
According to our long time research, we have classified crisis into two types such as; Natural Disaster and Man-Made.
Natural calamities:
There are many types of natural calamities and disasters. We are prepared for unimaginable happening of an event and risk. We have experienced some of the following calamities.
- Avalanche
- Flood & landslide
- Food poisoning.
- Epidemic
- Snowstorm, Frost bite, Snow blindness
- Altitude sickness
Man-made Crises:
Man-made Crises: Human behavior and attitude frequently produce difficulties, risks and hurdles in regular functioning of a particular business and assignment. Generally crises created by individual and groups those things might caused transportation interrupt, flight delay or cancellation etc. just to name a few, may be in the form of:
- Road Blockade
- Strikes and Closures,
- Political and Civil Unrest
- Environment Pollution
- System failure of communication and technology
- Harassment
- Accident
- Armed conflict and war
- Government proclaimed state of emergency
- Load-Shedding
- Crime and Disease
- Curfew
People’s reaction over events and accidents may create crisis and hazards that significantly damage the working environment of assigned and planned work. Conflict is one of the major factors that cause major security and safety hazards. Mob and crowd behavior are the sources of man-made crises and risks. In fact, no human being can anticipate the exact time and place of occurrence of disastrous event and man-made crisis. Therefore, a pro-active role is required to address a possible crisis.
Natural calamities are somehow not under control of the human being and in some cases the lost can not be compensate by an individual/ trekking company, that can be manage only by purchasing full coverage insurance policy, which Vertical Adventures (VA) strongly recommends.
To avoid, trace and tackle the effects from other above mentions crisis, Vertical Adventures has establish strong and effective network between the Company Crisis Management Authority and trekking/mountaineering guide and other field staffs implementing some required equipments as descried in the following points:
a) Safety in the cities before and after the trek/expedition:
We inform you much updated news in the earliest possible so you don’t need to get any harassment of strike, blockade and demonstrations in the cities. Regarding your safety in your staying in Kathmandu, we use the recommended Hotels of high grade. All of our staffs are equipped with mobile phones so that we can keep communication with them every moment.
b) In case of minor injuries and sickness during the trek/expedition:
Our guides will be well-experienced, well-skilled, well-trained and as well as well-equipped during the trek. Our agency provide our guides most of the medicines that are needed on the trek-depending on the group size, duration of the trek and the number of the Nepalese crews (staffs) etc. But we would like to advice you to bring your own medicine too. We have been providing several trainings to our guides.
Our guides also arrange horses/yak or extra porters if needed due to sickness and injuries on the trek and you need to get down/return to low elevation if any got altitude sickness or any. You need to pay extra costs for hiring horse/yak/porter in this case. Think! Life is not so cheap as much as you paid for a horse or extra porter.
You might be uncommon with the foods and you may not know what to eat in the high altitude, on the trek. So our guides brief you and inform you to eat food that can be easily digested by your stomach in the cities or in the high altitude places. And there are some foods which prevent high altitude also and our guides will advice you to eat those food.
c) In the event of flight delay & cancellation before to start and after the end of trek/expedition:
Vertical Adventures (VA) always uses the most reliable airlines. Our guides are briefed to inform to the company or airlines as soon as possible if the flight is delayed or cancelled. Furthermore, our guides are mostly flexible so they arrange time for you during the trek, examining your fitness, age and psychological performances. For more information, our company advice you to take two alternatives destinations so that you could do your second choice of options in case of the first is cancelled due to the domestic-flight cancellation or delay schedule. Our agency also advice you (depending on your program) to have some extra days at the end of the trek in Kathmandu so that those days can be substituted if the flight is delayed or cancelled before/after the trek, so in these case you could even catch up your International Flight back to home.
d) In case of loss baggage:
If the baggage is lost in the airport, our guide/airport representative will inform to the police and the company as soon as possible. If your guide is not with you, we advice you to inform to the police and our company as soon as possible so that the police and we could help you out immediately. During the trek, there will be sufficient staffs and guide with you, so there is less chance to loss the baggage while you are on the trek. However, if it happens, our guide arranges what necessary things to be done.
e) Safety while on the trek while staying in lodge or camping site:
We will provide assistant guide on the trek, so they take care of you on the trek. They also give heavy duty of watch-man even in the night time so that no one could steal any your valuables from your tent/lodge while you are sleeping. Besides, our guide brief you some manner to keep things in a proper way while you stay in the lodge.
f) In case of High Altitude Sickness:
Advice your guide to give the factual description of the destination on the orientation briefing and plus ask him to give the rule of precaution of the high altitude sickness in the evening briefing every day during the trek also.
Our trained and professional guides are more concerned about High Altitude Sickness and other related sickness.
We provide enough number of trekking crews/staff.
We use horses/basket carries to descend the injuries.
We advice and suggest trekkers in advance to have extra days for staying in Kathmandu except trekking.
Our guide will always stay keep in touch from every availability of communication en-route from trekking destination so that our company and the families of the clients could know the updated news of their relatives who are traveling to Nepal joining our company. Our trekking program allows sufficient acclimatization day/s after 2500 m.
In the event of rescue operation due to major sickness such acute mountain sickness, frost bite, snow blindness etc.
Our guides are well-trained about how to communicate in Kathmandu for rescuing. They also know the nearest radio station, police station and telephone booth in Nepal. So they can arrange needful in easy way if the rescue service is needed. They are also trained three rescue codes.
Our company gives guaranty to operate the rescue flight to the mountain. For that you should do an agreement with our company before leaving for trekking. We have been maintaining good cooperation between HRA (Himalayan Rescue Association) to provide fast and reliable rescue services incase of emergency to rescue and save our valued clients. We always keep good coordination between guide and trekking operation tem in Kathmanud to be ready to undertake fastest service in the event of emergencies if any of our trekking client get serious sickness or injuries because of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or due to any other injuries, once we get information from our guide from the trekking we immediately book and arrange helicopter rescue service to undertake rescue operation from the spot without any delay. But, please be noted that the rescue operation is very much dependable on weather condition and the spot location. Since the rescue operation charge is absolutely expensive (minimum USD 3500 per 3 hours), we strongly recommend to our clients to purchase full coverage insurance policy from reliable insurance company in their country.
Our aim is to best and safe services to our valued clients!