Mt. Kilimanjaro Mountain Guides on Kili
Find out about the guides on Kilimanjaro.
Ten Things You Need To Know About Climbing Kilimanjaro
Kili is a big mountain It soars at its highest point to 19340ft. It is among the seven continental giants, and sits high on the global mountaineering must do list for anyone claiming the status of a mountain enthusiast. It is, however, one of the easiest of the Big Seven. That is not to say it is a walkover, far from it, but it is less a mountaineering experience that an extended trek, and as a consequence it is one of the few big mountains of the world that almost anyone of moderate fitness has a fighting chance of summiting.
Kili is not a cheap mountain to climb Tanzania is home to some of the world’s premier wildlife parks and nature conservancies, and as a poor country it relies more on tourism dollars than government grants to sustain this heritage. Added to this the use of local guides and porters is mandatory. This is part of a general effort by the Tanzanian authorities to insure that local people are not insulated from the benefits accrued by tourism. So as you part with your dollars to make this climb, take comfort from the knowledge that your are contributing directly to the maintenance of the local ecology, and the support of local communities.
First Aid Guides are as a rule trained up to first aid level. This allows them to dress wounds, administer CPR and to dispense non-prescription painkillers while they await the arrival or paramedics. Any pain medication beyond over-the-counter strength analgesics that you feel you might require, and any specific medications you need, are your own responsibility.
It is advisable to carry a small personal medical kit for your own day to day use. In attending to random aches and pains, blisters, stings bites and rashes it always makes sense to be self sufficient, no matter what might be offered by your operator.
Date: July 28th, 2008 |
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Rongai Route: A Story
I stumbled upon a good story in one of BootsnAll’s blog about hiking the Rongai route of Mount Kilimanjaro. If you want to read a day-to-day account of this guys experience climbing Kilimanjaro, you might want to check it out. It’s pretty good. I like how his guide got pissed off because the tip was too little. It’s really important to set the expectation with the guides that tips are “earned” not just given. If the guide gives you any slack, tell the company he works for.
Read the Rongai route story.
Date: January 19th, 2007 |
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Scams on Kilimanjaro - Porter disappears, and then appears
Could you keep track of all these porters?
As part of the series of scams on Kilimanjaro by guides, this next scam is quite easy and happens to many people.
When you have a medium to a large-sized group on Kilimanjaro, the amount of porters can be deceptive. One of the oldest tricks on Kilimanjaro is to start with a large group of porters, have some of them leave half-way up the mountain, and then surprisingly they appear the last …
Date: December 5th, 2006 |
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Outfitter profile; Tusker Trail & Safari
I must have studied 15 different trekking companies while doing the research for my trip to the roof of Africa. This first blush was primarily for me to understand my points of decision and important criteria. All of it was done one year in advance but I reckoned careful study would only enable our chances. I looked at all the routes, weather seasons, climbing time vs. success rate, if they had an outhouse…the whole lot. Then distilled my information down to these four key factors…
Acclimatization Time – I knew how important this was …
Date: October 13th, 2006 |
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Kilimanjaro Guides Scam
There is a certain weight limit for porters going up the mountain. In order to pass through the gate, they must weigh the bags being carried up the mountain. This ensures that the tourists see the porters are getting treated fairly, with companies not putting way too much weight on the them - and not skimping on their labor costs.
But for those of you savy enough, on both the Marangu and the Machame route, within a few miles of the trailhead, you can actually sometimes see porters taking off their gear, giving it to one of the other porters, and …
Date: June 21st, 2006 |
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The Kilimanjaro Guide and Porter Fraternity: The Facts Behind The Scenes
The term eco-tourism tends to evoke images of enlightened travelers treading lightly and reverently among the surviving cathedrals of nature. Through the particulars of any given ecology they are guided by a local clone of Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin, who, with deep local insight, extol the intricacies and reveal the treasures buried far beyond the reach of the naked eye.
So it is, a lot of the time, and the clones take on many forms. Sometimes they are genuine children of the soil who are moved by the need to preserve their environment, and sometimes they are not. Sometimes it is patently clear that your local guide is as ignorant of the environment as you are, and is as indifferent to it’s long term sustainability as an urban capitalist calculating the gross margin on a cubic meter of hardwood. His interest is in the bottom line, in getting back to town as quickly as possible, and in the 25 percent tip that should as a rule accrue at the end of every expedition.
Sometimes this pisses people off. Sometimes they prefer not to acknowledge it, and sometimes they just accept it as a fact of life and get on with having a good time. The fact is, however, that the large number of peripheral bodies who seem to end up on every mountain party, no matter how you might try to keep numbers to a minimum, are an important part of the system, and this is why.
Date: July 14th, 2008 |
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Guide Scam - Have clients descend the mountain early
Another fairly good scam on Mount Kilimanjaro, often orchestrated by the guides, is to basically have the people come off the mountain earlier than planned.
Here is how it works. The guide usually pays for the least amount of day possible before the climb begins. If it’s a planned eight-day Lemosho or Machame route, the guide will pay for seven days. If the clients spend the entire eight days on the mountain, the guide will pay the difference at the exiting gate.
If, however, the clients decide to come down the mountain early since they are tired, hungry, or whatever, …
Date: December 6th, 2006 |
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Scams on Kilimanjaro - How Guides Rip Off Porters
Don’t get me wrong, Kilimanjaro is a wonderful mountain to climb. I encourage travelers to visit Tanzania and attempt to climb Africa’s highest, most famous, well-known mountain. It’s a great experience and most people enjoy it.
However, with something wonderful, there always seems to be a bit of a dark side. Money corrupts people. In a very poor country, that doesn’t have much - if any - regulation, it does let a few scams slip by the novice climber.
The biggest problem on Kilimanjaro are generally the guides, the people who are hired to take you up and down the mountain. …
Date: November 30th, 2006 |
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In “loo” of public bathrooms
Our outhouse location at Lava Tower
At last count, I had 52 mountain climbing books.
I have read and re-read every one. To my knowledge, only three of them mention “going to the bathroom”. It is a subject that doesn’t often get discussed. This always puzzled me because everyone has to go sometime…
In some of the books Messner and Kammerlander are climbing 70 to 80 degree faces without protection just using toes and finger tips. In others Scott and Haston are forging new routes up the southwest face of Mt Everest. Nobody says a …
Date: August 9th, 2006 |
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Dollar Tips or Shilling Tips
Many people are curious on what type of money to tip their porters and guides. Do they want American Dollars or Tanzanian Shilling, or European Euros, or British Pounds, or French Francs. Here is the answer: Anything works. Pretty much any semi-mainstream currency is fine. It really doesn’t matter. Many guides and porters prefer dollars or Euros (or whatever has the best exchange rate) but they will take anything. Sometimes you can even barter your clothes, tents, shoes for tips too. I have seen porters prefer a coat, or a watch, or something else random, like a waterbottle, instead of …
Date: November 29th, 2005 |
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