Congrats on your decision to climb Kilimanjaro!
Be aware that I am a partner in a Kilimanjaro climbing company so my
views are clearly one-sided, but to narrow down the choices I suggest
you decide on a route first and then find the company that best suit
your budget and preferences.
Having climbed the most popular routes I vote for the Western Breach
route as the most spectacular and satisfying, especially if you camp
on the crater rim. All climbing is done during daylight hours and the
summit morning is a very pleasant 90 minute hike instead of the 7-hour
ordeal through the freezing cold and darkness of most other routes.
The summit success rate via the Breach is very high for many reasons.
I assume you are climbing in Jan-Feb or Jul-Oct when the Breach is
very do-able. I don't recommend it during the rainy months.
If you like the Breach, then you have narrowed down the choice of
companies considerably since few have the safety equipment necessary
to do the Breach. Next you should visit
http://www.hec.org/club/partners.htm to get an idea of which companies
are serious about porter care. And then you can go on from there.
For a clear description of the Western Breach route, you can go here:
http://www.go-kili.com/westernbreach.htm
Good luck!
Eben
"None" wrote in message news:...
> My wife and I just returned from Tanzania where we booked a Kili climb and
> Serengeti safari with Roy Safaris. It is not the largest company, but they
> were very good in all ways. Good vehicles, superb guides, good food, good
> prices, etc.
>
> My wife made it to the top. I got HAPE and had to be evacuated. In the face
> of adversity the guides were on top of it with safety and courtesy of
> primary concern. When I returned to town the entire office came in on an off
> day to greet me and give condolences. We traveled with a group of 11
> friends. Every person in the group was more than happy with Roy's company.
> On Kili, and on safari, the guides were incredibly perceptive to the
> environment and encyclopedias of information.
>
> They do not have the best web page and are a bit slow on email responses,
> but that is the nature of technology in much of Africa.
>
> Have a great trip!
>
> "Rub1sco" wrote in message
> news:2n5e0pFs0qo8U1@uni-berlin.de...
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I'm about to book up a climb of Kilimanjaro, and I've spent a while firing
> > off e-mails to all the usual operators. What kind of thing should I be
> > looking for in a decent climb operator? I've been told to look out for
> ones
> > which are TATO, TTB registered, or have a TALA licence, how can I check
> > these out?
> >
> > One of the companies i've come across is GMTanzania
> > (http://www.gmtanzania.co.tz). Has anyone done tours with these guys
> > before. I'm particularly interested in how they compare to Africa Travel
> > Resource who seem to get decent write-ups from everyone.
> >
> > Other than these two, any other mid-range recommendations?
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> >
> >
> > |
