POKHARA, Nepal - When three sisters tried to break into Nepal's male-dominated mountain trekking industry 20 years ago, competitors tried to run them out of business. Men threatened them, harassed them - even filed false police reports against them.

"The men said this is a business for the men and we should leave it alone," said Lucky Chettri, the eldest sister in the 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking Co. "They would even accuse us of trying to take away food from their table."

Now the sisters have a booming business and a waiting list of Nepalese women who want to join their training program for mountain guides.

The rise of the Chettri sisters' business reflects the increasing influence of women in Nepal. In many ways, though, men still have most of the power in Nepal.

Slow, Steady Climb

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first climbed Mount Everest in 1953, but it was another 40 years before the first Nepali woman reached the peak. Since then, women have made progress in politics, education and business.

In 1990, about 5 percent of Nepali politicians were female, but women won a third of the seats in the 2008 election for parliament. Some laws that discriminate against women have been changed, including one that allowed only sons to inherit their parents' property.

The number of women in trekking and mountaineering has risen as well, said Shailee Basnet. In 2008, Basnet led a 10-member Nepali women's team to Everest. She gave the credit for the greater number of women interested in trekking to the Chettri sisters.

"They have started a trend for women to take up this profession. Women guiding foreign trekkers in the region has become a normal thing now," she said.

Needed: More Women On The Trails

Twenty years ago, the Chettris had heard from foreign female travelers that they were harassed, even sexually assaulted, by male guides while trekking on remote mountain trails, so they came up with the idea of opening a woman-run trekking agency.

"These girls were really afraid and felt insecure," said Lucky, 48, at their office next to the picturesque Phewa lake.

The sisters had led trips themselves. But they had trouble finding more women who knew trekking, spoke English and were willing to spend days walking with the foreigners away from home. Their solution was to bring the women to Pokhara and train them for six months.

"At the beginning it was very unusual for the women to join our program because they had to leave their homes for many days, working with Westerners," said Nicky, the youngest of the sisters. "Some thought it was against our culture because women are expected to be at home doing household work."

But soon the word spread. "These women began to like the idea that they don't need to depend on their husbands for money," Nicky said.

A Golden Opportunity

Gam Maya Tilicha, 25, once planned to become a teacher but is now a full-time guide at the agency.

"I never imagined that I would be a trekking guide. But the income is very good and I like what I am doing - meeting people from all over the world and traveling to new places in Nepal," she said.

The sisters take in 40 students every six months, giving them free housing, food and clothing. The money earned from the trekking agency supports the training.

Once they graduate, they make about $3,000 a year from guiding tourists, a better-than-average salary in this poor Himalayan nation. Monika Rai, a 19-year-old student, hopes it leads to something better.

"I am here to learn the skills of trekking and English language so that I can become a guide and make more money than in any other jobs," she said.

The Chettris have 150 women guides who lead nearly 1,000 foreign trekkers a year. They specialize in trekkers who travel the lower mountain trails, not the mountaineers who go beyond Everest's base camp and up to the world's tallest peak.

Safe Guiding

Mountaineering and trekking is a big business in Nepal, where half the foreign visitors come to explore the mountains. According to the Nepal Mountaineering Association, about 340,000 foreign tourists ventured on treks last year.

Many of the visitors are single women who prefer to have a female guide. One of them is Sophie Whitwell, a 25-year-old from London who signed up with 3 Sisters.

"I would definitely want a female guide. I am sure it would be fine if you went with a male guide but you just don't know, and you are walking with them potentially alone for several hours a day," she said. "If you are in a scenario where you need a rescue ... a female guide is just as capable of walking to the next town to get help or make a phone call."