Pulse-oximeter - carried by the head guide, as a diagnostic tool for acclimatization
Mobile phones - carried by the head quide and all assistant guides, for daily communications with our base in Arusha. All quldes carry extra batteries for their phones.
Satellite phone - carried by the head quide for emergencies (only on Lemosho and Rongai Routes)
VHF 2-way handheld radios (with extra batteries) carried for quick communication between head and assistant quides
Ice axe (only for a Western Breach Route ascent)
Mountain rope (only for a Western Breach Route ascent)
Stretcher (and convertible litter)
Comprehensive medical/first aid kits (as per WFR/NOLS USA quidelines)
Our staff (mountain guides, cooks and porters):
Professional Mountain Guides, all certified by NOLS USA as WFR or WAFA.
Ratio of at least one quide for every three guests, to ensure personalized attention.
Cooks and Porters:
We pay the highest porters salaries on Kilimanjaro. The allows us to demand and receive the best porters and attain the highest standards.
We have a core team of porters on each expedition who are trained to perform specific tasks which are vital to the success of each trek. We pay these core porters high bonuses on each trip for these specialized jobs.
We pay large bonuses to porters and perform their duties and carry loads to the Crater Camp.
We feed our porters heartily with quality foods including meat, fish, fresh vegetables, and grains. We do not reduce this from their salaries.
We pay our quides and porters'health care and injury costs.
We have workers compensation insurance for our quides and porters.
We provide a complete first-aid kit and treat our porters as we would our guests when they are sick or injured on the mountain.
We pay all staff their full salary and bonuses, even if they have to descend early with a climber, or even if they are sick and must descend early.
We ensure that each porter has proper mountain boots, a warm hat, gloves and quality sleeping bag. All of this is checked regularly, before each trek at the gate, and if the porter is missing any item he is not allowed to climb.
We provide heavy-duty rain ponchos to each porter before each trek.
We provide tents with floors for the porters to sleep.
We provide closed-cell foam mattress pads for each of the porters, to keep them off the cold ground when they sleep.
We provide snow goggles for our porters at crater camp, to protect their eyes.
We adhere to the quidelines of KPAP- the Kilimanjaro Porter's Assistance Project. Based at the foot of Kilimanjaro, in Moshi, they are a Tanzanian non-profit organization committed to improving the working conditions of the porters. We embody and practice their principles of porter ethics, and pay our staff above their recommended wages.
We respect the weight limits for porters as instructed by the park and KPAP.
We never send porters up the mountain alone without one of our certified KINAPA licensed quides carrying mobile communications.
We provide vehicle transport from Marangu Village (where all our porters call home) to the gate for each staff member on each trek, and return transport home at the end of each trek.
We provide annually professional wilderness first-aid training for quides and porters, including all costs (transport, accommodation and meals) during the course duration for all staff.
We provide annually professional menu training for our cooks, including all costs (transport, accommodation and meals) during the course duration.
We provide annually language courses for our quides and waiters.
