Stephen Bezruchka first went to Nepal in 1969, drawn by his interest in climbing and a desire to get close to the world’s highest summits. He wrote the first edition of this guide, which was published in 1972. His fascination with Nepal soon transcended its lofty mountains to focus on the social-cultural matrix that remains a lifelong passion.
He returned to work in Nepal in the mid-1970s and in the mid-1980s. Initially he helped set up a community health project in western Nepal. Later he developed a remote district hospital as a teaching hospital for Nepali doctors and supervised the first physicians training there. He then worked with Nepali doctors to enable medical officers posted in remote district hospitals to carry out necessary surgery. Currently he spends most of his time in Nepal presenting concepts of population health to various groups.
Stephen Bezruchka has trekked far and wide in Nepal. He has climbed in the far ranges of the earth, including the Yukon, Pakistan, and China and on Everest. He is the author of The Pocket Doctor: Your Ticket to Good Health while Traveling, and Altitude Illness: Prevention and Treatment. Of Ukrainian descent, he traveled to the Ukraine and toured outdoor museums there that reminded him of the way life continues in Nepal today. He practiced emergency medicine for thirty years and teaches at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.