Why Should You Climb with Team Kilimanjaro?
What is your summit success rate?
We do not actually keep statistics for summit success and I regret that none of the statistics that any company has so far published that I have seen, have been accurate.
One of our agents in South Africa used to publish a success rate for us of 98% on their website but I have no idea where they got this figure. I indicated to them when I first saw this claim that this data was not derived from us, as we deliberately do not publish such data, but they chose to keep the information in place.
I suspect that some operators and their agents may feel tempted to invent figures, knowing that it's impossible for a prospective client to verify their claims.
By contrast, somewhat ironically actually, our (non-published) summit statistics can actually be verified, since we have published reports for every single climb group that has trekked with us over the last few years on our Kilimanjaro live reports site, so you can get a very accurate picture of trends there.
The reason it is very unlikely that we will ever actually publish stats is because doing so places a dangerous burden on a climber, and more dangerously still, on the guide. If a guide knows that his boss uses success rates as a marketing tool, he will be apprehensive about returning from the mountain with anything less than a summit. Putting pressure on a guide to get his climbers to the summit by hook or by crook is understandably very dangerous as he will have to subvert his natural protective instincts to the demands of his office, which is obviously something that Team Kilimanjaro would never allow.
That said, perusing our live climb reports will likely indicate that we would expect at least 19 in every 20 attempts to be successful at summiting.
Why should I book to do the trek with Team Kilimanjaro?
You shouldnβt necessarily. Our job requires that we aim to determine whether we think youβll be happier with us or with someone else, as it is disappointing for both of us if it transpires that you were actually after something that we donβt even pretend to offer.
Basically, we are fairly unique in that we are run by mountaineers (though so are African Environments and Alpine Ascents - both excellent operations) and that we have configured our timings and movements and procedures to best ensure hydration, nutrition and rest and to best exploit the principles of safe and thorough acclimatisation in order to maximise the likelihood of your summiting safely and comfortably.
But that said, there are perhaps two or three other groups that can legitimately make similar claims. Of the handful of companies however that have a serious attitude towards their expeditions and that approach an ascent of Kilimanjaro as a mountaineering expedition rather than a mere package trip and business opportunity, we are conspicuously the lowest priced. Again, the reason for this is that we have almost daily departures and correspondingly lower operating margins and can support our staff year round, whereas typically, these other operations run only 5-10 climbs on Kilimanjaro a year and have to pay high wages to entice good guides who work for other companies away from the main operations they usually guide with.
We do not mollycoddle our people and they certainly do not see themselves at all as poor little pathetic exploited Africans (as often seems to be the working assumption behind many questions related to "porter treatment" - as though they were either little pets or trapped in indentured servitude), but on the contrary, most seem to have varied and fulfilling family and social lives, all seem really proud to work with us, and I feel very privileged to have such a dedicated and loyal team of men.
We have some tremendous talent in the team and yet an ethos of humility and humour, while maintaining a very serious and professional attitude about the things that must always be taken seriously. We have a markedly different attitude to Kilimanjaro and everything related to it, than all our competitors and it might be the case that you simply do not identify with the ethos of what we represent.
It is so easy to say only what you strongly suspect that the prospective client wants to hear, but again, we don't do this as we know that this approach may lead to disappointment later on both sides, so before making your choice we would ask you to please aim to derive as much information about us as possible from our website. Itβs all sincere and reasonably accurate; and from Googling us independently of what we say about ourselves here on our website, and thereafter to simply decide whether indeed weβre likely to be a good fit with one another, or whether you might simply feel more at home elsewhere. [We used to recommend a couple of other alternatives here but we note that they have since gone out of business or removed their websites].
Do you have recent feedback from clients who have completed the trek with you?
Yes, plenty! But it wouldnβt be very objective of us to put you in touch with people that we know are only going to say nice things about us. If you visit the following resources you will have direct uncensored access to feedback from more than 200 of our expeditions, feedback that is totally outside our control or ability to edit!
You should remember that for many years the RGS denied even the existence of snow on Kilimanjaro because snow at such a location was obviously scientifically impossible, and the missionaries who reported seeing it were not scientifically qualified.
I have personally selected all of our chief guides, most of my assistant guides, some of my cooks and a small percentage of my porters. On the last selection course I ran, I started at 0545 in the morning with 220 porters and after beasting ourselves up and down our local training hill (Kivesi), having strength tests on the summit and a race back to TKBase there were only actually around 25 names that were permanently added to my staff list.
Things that are included in the cost of your Kilimanjaro climb are:
If there is heavy snow on the mountain it should be noted that reaching the summit can become more challenging than at other times of year, with your guide being required to cut and kick bucket steps for you.
If unable to find affordable flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport an alternative is that you fly to Nairobi, spend the night at a hotel there and transfer to Arusha via a six hour bus journey, crossing the border at Namanga. Youβll need a Kenyan tourist visa for this option which you can purchase at Nairobi airport when you arrive.
On our Advantage Series, we ask that you divide your equipment into two parts: those things that you need to have with you while you trek, such as waterproof jacket and trousers, spare fleece, camera, batteries, personal medications, sun cream, 3 litres of water-carrying capacity, etc, and those things that you will only need to have access to in the evenings and mornings.
