BootsnAll Travel Community

The more blogs I read describing people's experience climbing Kili, the more I get excited about booking it. Until once every often you come across the tragic stories, which then makes the decision of which Operator to choose even harder.

Here is one such story I just read: http://gjfreepress.com/article/20080414/COMMUNITY_NEWS/883302225

A guy from Colorado died near the Summit last October, climbing with his mother. He was quite fit and had quite a bit of hiking experience. I don't know any details such as how quickly they climbed etc. However, the worrying part is that the company was Geographic Expeditions, which I think is supposed to be one of the best going around, and supposedly takes saftey very seriously and have very well trained guyides etc... They had all the necessary medical equipment with them, but failed to recognise the symptoms of HACE. He leaves behind a wife and 2 kids. It's heartwrenching to read.

I'm prepared to stretch my budget as much as possible to ensure a safe climb, but reading stories like that makes me very nervous. Perhaps I'm worrying too much (i know statistically speaking you have more chance of blah blah blah...)

But I've escaped death once before, and I don't want to keep pushing my luck!

Q1: So can someone provide me with some companies which they believe take the safety aspect most seriously and with whom we can feel most comfortable with? Perhaps the names of companies that monitor your progress every day, as Cheesehead described with Tusker?

Q2: Also, is there any advantage in doing a private climb, just my girlfriend and I, as opposed to with a group? ie From a safety aspect, would more attention possibly lead to better identification of symptoms etc.. (then again, if you have an inept Guide, i guess it doesn't matter).

The key for this not happening is taking your time to acclimate going up the mountain, and having educated guides who can recognize AMS.

If someone is trying to sell you five or six days up the mountain, then they are not the ones you want to be speaking with.

Hi

As Donovan stated, take your time and you should be ok

7 days minimum. I got Tusker trails info in the mail and it is very slick and professional. Saftey is what they push. There costs are among the highest going, more than twice the going rate. Now having said that what is your saftey worth, more than twice the going rate, but most reputable companies will give you the same service for much less money. Take along a pulse oximeter (ebay 20.00) it will tell you your oxygen saturation as you climb (it goes down the higher you go) it will also tell you your pulse rate.

I read the article... sad, but I wonder why on earth he stayed on the mountain for 2.5 days? Seems like they hung around the lower camps so they did not have to get off the mountain, probably waiting for the rest of the party. Like they said, he did not show typical symptoms. He seemed ok for 2.5 days. Is Geographic Expeditions really to blame? It seems like it could have happened with any operator.

I climbed Kili this past December with Tusker. I developed HAPE on summit night and was immediately evacuated down the mountain. My guides were awesome, and did the right thing. Tusker was my choice because of their excellent safety record, and because I have 3 small children and a husband at home and I needed to give them that extra bit of comfort knowing I was in good hands half-way across the world! I am sure there are other outfitters out there who do a great job too, but for me Tuskers was the right choice!

Hi, Iam curious as to what rte you took and how many days you took to get to summit day? Did you stay a nite in crater? Had you been taking Diamox and did you have to be hospitalised? Just curious, I am going up Kili in about a month....kh

We had a great time with Victor and his cousins - a small operation but talk about quality, funtimes and just great individuals to experience such a great thing with:


victor manyanga @ victortz2000@yahoo.com

Good luck.
Anisa

Oh and we did the Rongai route...and ended up summiting during the day vs. the night. We weren't up to doing it late night so we woke up at like 6am and just did it. It was awesome to do it this way because we had the mountain pretty much to ourselves. I was the only one at the top at 4pm when I made it around the crater. Simply breathtaking!!!

I went last September (2007) with my 73 (at the time) yr-old dad. He’s in good shape, but I wanted to take no chances safety-wise, so I was looking at Tusker & Kiliwarriors. We ended up going with Tusker. The gamow bag may be overkill – I think you’d only use it if weather and/or injuries prevented immediate descent. And I don’t think the weather gets that bad most of the time. The real value was in 2x daily medical checks, with health questions, oximeter and stethoscope. They keep a health log for each client. We had five guys (my dad, me (38), and 3 other guys - also in their late 30s). My dad and I took diamox. Because of the diamox (or because of some other reason – lucky genes?) my dad and I had consistently higher blood oxygen readings. A couple of the other guys had some tough moments with the altitude, but the guides got them through with rest, fluids, and a little oxygen.

I think the way to look at the cost of a service like Tusker is not how much more expensive it is than other services, but whether the added cost is worth it to you in terms of safety and/or peace of mind. An extra $500, $1000, $2000, whatever, on top of the overall trip cost may not seem like a lot, depending on your situation/perspective. We felt like we were in very good hands.

I think Donovan is 100% right in that the key is a longer itinerary. Go up slowly, giving yourself a chance to acclimatize, is the very best thing you can do for your safety. Having nice tents, good food, etc also goes a long way in making the grind of a longer itinerary bearable.

We did the Lemosho-Lava Tower route (7 days up, 2 days down), and I would not have changed a thing about our route. Camping in the crater was also very very cool. Once in a lifetime experience!

BTW, Tusker isn't the only group that keeps a health log. African Walking Company did the same, although without the stethoscope etc. They asked twice daily how people were, any symptoms (specific questions) and kept a log for each member of the group.

All well and good getting the extra checks and paying the extra to go with Tusker, but don't assume that because you pay more and Tusker does something, that other groups don't do it at all.

Just saying!

Good point Coxy. I can't argue with that. Having only been there once, I can only speak to the Tusker experience. As a Tusker client, I certainly felt like I was getting my money's worth the whole time. Of course, if I did it again, with a good-but-less-expensive outfitter, I might feel differently! I guess the bottom line is -- it pays to do the research. If you can ascertain that a service provides the attention to safety that meets your needs, you should go with that service. In my case, hiking with my dad, I didn't want any doubt that I was getting the best as far as safety (and other amenities), and that led me to Tusker. I was willing to pay a premium for that peace of mind. But I'm sure there are good (better) values out there in terms of a safety- and quality-to-price ratio. Anyone reading up on this question in this forum is certainly on the right track to find value in that regard.

Absolutely, and I'm not for a second criticising Tusker or anyone who chooses to use them (I couldn't, because they only cater for US residents).

Like all things, you don't commit to something based on price alone. Research is key. And IMO, the best research is talking to people who have used them before and finding out about their experiences.

Which is the great value this forum provides.

No worries ... I didn't take it as a criticism. I agree with you 100%! And not only is reseach key, but it's also half the fun! Researching guide services was just the start; I went on to research just about every peice of equipment, medicine, even snack foods and drink mixes we took. It's completely addicting!

Totally! The shopping becomes addictive too! I would've blown thousands of bucks at my favourite mountain shop in the months leading up to the trek! I used just about all of it so it wasn't squanderlust!

My partner is worried now. There was a travel show on here last night about Everest Base Camp :-) They drove there, but the company I booked my Kili trek with also had treks to Base Camp (and beyond, though not the summit obviously)...I hadn't seriously considered it but now I am...though not for a while. Got a bub on the way!

Don't know what it was exactly, but the terrain and the tent city...it reminded me of the upper camps at Kili...hmmm!