Through our work as mountain hut owners we have developed a special connection to Nepal, its land, and its people. Through 1000 detours and a bit of fate, we met Sonam four years ago. He applied for a waiter position at our Almtalerhaus, and after a Skype conversation with Kathmandu, we immediately clicked. For the past four years, we have been an inseparable team, and Sonam has brought some good friends into the team as well.

We have never had such wonderful, warm, hardworking employees. From the first moment, we were impressed by the energy and enthusiasm the guys bring to the work. We generally have a family-like work environment and joke around constantly. However, Sonam & his team manage to stay calm and smiling even under the greatest stress. Whether it’s due to Buddhism or the tough life circumstances  in the mountains they grow up in, we don’t know. But nothing its impossible or to hard, there is a solution for eveerything. Sonam, Pasang, Dawa, Lhakpa, and Pasang are probably the toughest, strongest, funniest, and most loving people we’ve ever met.

Yes, the names can be a bit complicated for us. Traditionally, Sherpas are named after the day of the week they were born or are given religious names. As a last name, all Sherpas carry the surname Sherpa. This results in many people having the same name, which often caused amusing confusion for us.

But how does a person living in the chaotic metropolis of Kathmandu end up applying for a job at an Austrian mountain inn? It’s not exactly obvious :)

We call it fate—or maybe it’s coincidence. At our second hut, the Almtalerhaus, we had already been struggling to find staff. Everyone in the hospitality industry knows this problem. These jobs are no longer very popular among the younger generation. The work is well-paid (with us), but it’s often very stressful, and it seems people don’t want that these days.

Long story short, we decided to post the job offer on a Europe-wide platform for hospitality and mountain hut jobs. At the same time, Sonam was working for a renowned Swiss trekking and mountaineering agency in Kathmandu. His former boss saw his potential and suggested Sonam look for jobs in Europe, where one can earn good money during the season. That’s how Sonam found our inn, and we found each other.

Fate or whatever—since then, we’ve become a team and good friends.

We spent a few weeks in Nepal, and this trip was truly unforgettable for us. We had the privilege of visiting the families of our employees and friends and got to know Kathmandu and the rest of Nepal (the travel report would be too long, stay tuned for the blog) from an entirely different perspective. Each season, we collected donations, and some truly generous sums were raised, which we then had the honor of handing over directly to Sonam. That was deeply moving and something we will never forget.

We want to thank you, Lhakpa, Pasang, Sonam, Pasang, Ngima & Neema for everything, you are all truly amazing <3