Team Asha Main Hiking Program 2026

 

The season for Team Asha’s Main Hiking Program is commencing soon! Instagram | Facebook | Email | Strava

Join us for the information session on March 18, 2026, at 7:00 pm PST on Zoom! Zoom Link

Interest Form is available! Click Here!

The Main Program is a more intensive season that typically begins in April and runs through July. It is intended for participants looking to tackle significant high-altitude challenges and backpacking. It is a 13-15-week comprehensive program that includes weekly training hikes and educational workshops.

  • Highlights of Team Asha Main Hiking Program

    The cornerstone of the Main Program is advanced training including weekly group hikes with increasing difficulty around Bay Area, with training on the fundamentals of backpacking, building endurance, strength, trail confidence, and supervised high-altitude experience. Participants choose their own major adventure.

  • Workshops and Information Sessions

    Sessions on everything from physiology of exercises, training, high altitude, equipment and nutrition to navigation.

  • Volunteer driven

    The program is completely driven by volunteers who are passionate about the cause of Asha for Education. All our coords and mentors volunteer their time to make the program successful.

  • Support A great cause

    Team Asha athletes raise funds for Asha for Education, Silicon Valley chapter, which helps support education initiatives for underprivileged children in India.

Choose your own adventure!

The training culminates in challenging, scenic backpacking trips in locations including the California Sierra, Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks (14ers), Yosemite, and many more. Sierra Nevada offers more sustained, multi-day wilderness, and the Colorado 14ers offer higher and frequently steeper “day-summit” experiences.

Backpacking in the Sierra (June 26-29, 2026)

A scenic section of the iconic John Muir Trail! Thousand Island Lake!

Backpacking to Thousand Island Lake, considered one of the most breathtaking stretches of the entire John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail!

Day Hike for Peak Bagging in Colorado (July 8-12, 2026)

Traverse the iconic landscapes of the Colorado mountains on a thrilling day, marveling at the rugged beauty and stunning vistas only the peaks can offer.

Savor the thrill of hiking high altitude peaks (called 14ers), without the need for traditional backpacking. Scenic Colorado!

Backpacking to High Passes (July 23-26, 2026): Looking for more strenuous trails to challenge the hiker within you?

This challenging Sierra Backpacking of 22 miles for two scenic high passes is best for you! Scenic High Passes!

Information Session

Join our upcoming 1-hour information session on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 7:00 pm PST to get the orientation and the details via Zoom!

Our first hike starts on April 4, 2026. We meet weekly on Scenic Trails to prepare participants of all activity levels. On trails, our mentors will share their interesting backcountry experiences, gear information, and how hiking has become their lifestyle! Off-trail, we share tips on Strength Training and being a Prepared Hiker!  At the end of the training season, you will be well prepared for bagging target hikes of your choice!

We celebrate your achievement as a member of the Team Asha Hiking Community at the end-of-season party on August 2, 2026.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to embrace the call of the wild, push your limits, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Fundraising

Every endurance training program has a target fundraising requirement. Please attend the info session to find out more details. If you are worried about fundraising, we invite you to come to our info session and/or open hikes and talk to our coords and coaches.
All the money raised through this program gets distributed among 20+ NGOs that we work with across India.
Donors like you help us ensure that kids don’t just attend school and they actually learn. We support our project partners in India who have diverse education needs – it could be a supplementary school, school with special needs, vocational training classes or digital education.To give a brief idea of some of our projects:

To learn more about our projects and locations, please visit http://sv.ashanet.org/projects/.

Asha for Education is a 100% transparent and volunteer driven organization. Every single $ you raise is dispersed to our projects. All the coaches train athletes for no cost and in fact many of them fundraise just like any other athlete enrolled in our program.

In 2019, our Team Asha athletes raised ~600K. Asha for Education Silicon Valley chapter dispersed ~500K to 24 projects impacting the lives of 30,000+ children in India. Check out our 2019 annual report here.

  1. Start your fundraising early – this helps in reaching out to more people and raise way more than your minimum target.
  2. Most of the profit companies in the Bay Area do company matching. All your donations can be doubled by applying for company match. Check here if your company has a donation matching program.
  3. Every single hour you volunteer for ANY NGO can be used towards your fundraising through ‘volunteer hour grants’.
  4. Another great way to fundraise is to organize a lunch sale at your workplace or in your friends circle. You also get a chance to explain about various projects Asha supports. Read this article to see how a Alumni raised funds.
  5. Lose your inhibitions – you are asking people to donate for a great cause. It’s important to explain why you are training through Team Asha and how proud your donors should be because they are helping every child in leading a better life!
  6. If you are artsy & crafty, this will be an amazing way to show your talent. You can ask people to donate towards your FR for every item you sell.
  7. General donations to Asha for Education by the athlete in the same fiscal year can be accounted towards FR target. (donations to fundraising campaigns such as Work An Hour, Support A Child etc and events will not be considered).
  8. Tips from our Asha alumni.
    Be sure to attend our fundraising clinic to learn more!
I have never raised money for a cause. How do I raise 1000+ dollars?
This is a very valid concern that every new member of Team Asha has. We will help you with ideas, materials, fundraising clinics etc to help you with your fundraising. During every weekend training, your group captain will help you keep on track. Till date, more than 80% of our bikers have raised more than the minimum fundraising targets.
What happens if I am unable to meet my fundraising target?
Team Asha mentors and other Asha volunteers will work with you throughout the program and beyond to help you honor your pledge of raising the target amount. Please see this program as a means of supporting and encouraging the underprivileged children and not simply a training program. Without your fundraising efforts, it would be difficult for Asha to continue supporting these projects. We urge you to do your best to honor your commitment in helping these children. If in the end you still fail to reach the target then you are required to cover the balance by yourself.
Where do the funds I raise go?
Asha for Education is a 100% volunteer driven organization. Asha-SV has a list of projects we support every year. 100% of your donation goes towards the projects because our operating expenses will be covered by the registration fee you pay. If you want to donate to a particular project of your interest, please contact [email protected].

Timeline

  • Info session (online)

    March 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM PST Zoom link

  • Interest Form

    Interest Form

  • First Training Hike

    Saturday, April 4, 2026

  • Gear Clinic at Sports Basement

    Sunday, April 12, 2026

  • Guest Speaker Exercise Physiologist (online)

    Monday, April 20, 2026 at 7:00 pm PST

  • Fundraising Clinic (0nline)

    Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 7:00 pm PST

  • Guest Speaker for High Altitude (online)

    Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 7:00 pm PST

  • High Altitude Training Hike + Camping for backpackers

    June 12-14, 2026

  • Target Hike: Backpacking in Sierra

    June 26-29, 2026

  • Target Hike: Colorado 14ers

    July 8-12, 2026

  • Target Hike: Backpacking to High Passes

    July 23-26, 2026

  • End of Season Party

    Sunday August 2, 2026