A STUDENT with a head for heights is set to return to his role as a Himalayan sherpa when he completes his course.

Skalzang Rigzin, from Ladakh in India, is studying Outdoor Adventure Management at Kingston Maurward College near Dorchester.

He hopes to set up his own sherpa business after completing his foundation degree in July.

Skalzang, 27, worked as a sherpa in the Himalayas before heading to Dorset to embark on his course and returns to his former life in the holidays.

His work has seen him rescue people from crevasses.

Last summer he reached heights of more than 15,000 metres in scaling three previously unclimbed peaks.

Skalzang also came to the aid of a member of the British Schools Exploring Society who was suffering from altitude sickness, carrying the woman down a descent of more than 1,000 metres.

He says that, while he is keen to return to his life in the mountains, he has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Dorset, especially discovering the county’s coastline.

Skalzang, who is being sponsored through his course by Bryanston School in Blandford where he works as an outdoor education assistant, said: “At Kingston Maurward I’ve been learning about project management, cash flow and business generally. I have also been doing outdoor activities I’ve never tried before such as caving and canoeing, along with those I have – kayaking and rock climbing.

“I shall miss Dorset’s cliffs and the sea when I go home. We don’t have the sea there.”

Skalzang is looking forward to taking what he has learned at Kingston Maurward back top his homeland as he returns to a career fraught with danger.

He said: ““The Himalayas are very dangerous. You have to contend with glaciers, peaks, crevasses and avalanches every day.”