09 Oct 2019
My wife and I successfully summited Kilimanjaro this summer. This was by far our most ambitious outdoor trip. To-date. :)
We couldn't be more impressed with Tusker. First of all, They did an excellent job preparing us for the trip providing extensive info, answering all our questions and giving recommendations for equipment, training, medicine, etc. If anything, we felt over-prepared on the climb. That's is a good thing when taking the trip of this kind for the first time.
During the climb Tusker brought had an impressive array of safety equipment. (We didn't need it but it was good to know it was there). Daily health checks helped everyone to stay on track. I developed altitude related headache relatively early in the climb. Medically trained guides helped manage that so that it didn't interfere with the climb. There were 8 people in our group. Everyone got personal attention, everyone submitted.
Food was plentiful, private toilets were a huuuuge plus. We even had a warm water shower at one point!
Climbing itself was managed very well. Most companies start summiting at night. We started off on the morning making it a day climb. That had a number of advantages:
- Much less cold and wind
- Avoids scramble in the dark
- No crowds at the summit. (We were the only group there and had all the time we needed to celebrate, take pictures and enjoy the summit).
Overall, we had a trip of a lifetime. (We also arranged Safari extension through Tusker. That was mind blowing in a completely different way).
Tusker may be be the cheapest way to go but is very well worth it. We are very likely will do another trip with Tusker.