Hi Gary

I have to disagree with you. We're not talking about having "bad
trips". When the cook drops his container with eggs on day 1, it may
be a bad trip. When a porter is mistreated, or dies unnecessarily on
the mountain, it should have a bigger impact.

We cannot expect TATO, IMEC or any other organization to make
decisions about good vs. bad companies. Nor can we depend on
guidebooks such as Lonely Planet.

My point is that each climber should ask tough questions BEFORE they
sign up with a trekking company and then make an effort to look out
for the porters while on the mountain. And when they write their
travelogues and trip reviews on
http://www.peakware.com/wsl/logs/kilimanjaro.htm, they should include
a paragraph about the porters and their conditions. Tell me about your
food and your hardships, but also tell me about your porters and how
they were treated.

Climber awareness is the best way to fight porter abuse. If a company
is not volunteering to provide the information in my previous post,
please consider it a warning sign.
Eben


(Gary Balfour) wrote in message . com...
(ClimbHighSleepLow) wrote in message . com...
Since I am a partner in a Kilimanjaro climbing company I cannot
comment on other companies. Instead I suggest you do the following:

1. Visit IMEC at http://www.hec.org/club/partners.htm to see which
companies are serious about porter care.

2. Then ask each company the following 5 questions:

a) Do your porters have proper clothes, shelter, food? Porters must
have a separate tent and should not sleep in the mess tent.
b) How much do you pay your porters?
c) Do the porters pay for food?
d) Do you provide free transport for your porters?
e) What is the maximum weight carried by your porters?

It is shocking to see how many companies treat their porters on
Kilimanjaro. And it is even more shocking when good people sign up to
climb with these bad companies.

I applaud the fact that you care about the porters, and I wish you the
best of luck on Kilimanjaro!

Eben

The issue of porters on Kilimanjaro has long been a concern in the
industry. With unemployment at such a horrific rate in Tanzania, some
of these guys will jump at any opportunity to make a few shillings.
And yes, there are unscrupulos companies that take advantage of this.
The best way to judge a company is by the references that people have
used it give. The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators can advise
you one companies that have lost membership because of failing to live
up to standards. www.safari.cc/tato

That said, some of the best companies have bad trips. And some
horrible ones manage to pull off good trips. Asking about how they
treat their staff may work, but I doubt that a bad company is going to
tell you the truth, and some companies (including good ones) may be
reluctant to tell you how they pay their staff and the benefits they
offer.

The African Walking Company is very good, as are many others.

Have a great climb.
Gary

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