15 Dec What Happens to Other Trekkers if Someone Can’t Continue Climbing Kilimanjaro?
When a group embarks on a Nyange Adventure climb up Kilimanjaro, they are usually a full team of 10-15 participants. Most of the time, everyone reaches the summit successfully, but it’s common for one or two members to face difficulties that prevent them from making it to the top. These challenges can be caused by altitude sickness, exhaustion, foot problems, cold weather, or various other reasons.
If you’re in a smaller private party, typically consisting of two to six people, it’s even less likely that more than one person won’t reach Uhuru Point.
A common question is what happens to the rest of the group if one member needs to turn back. Do they have to stop too? The simple answer is no, they don’t have to stop.
The group continues following the planned route even if some members need to descend.
High Guide-to-Client Ratio
We maintain a high guide-to-client ratio, ensuring your safety and support. Each group has a lead guide, assistant guides, cooks, and porters, depending on the group’s size. This level of support ensures a safer and more successful experience for everyone.
Our guides can adjust the pace if necessary. For example, faster and slower trekkers can walk at different speeds, especially on summit night. On regular hikes, our guides intentionally go slower to help with acclimatization, so it’s important not to rush ahead.
But what if a climber needs to descend?
If someone has to go down, one of our guides will descend with them, accompanied by porters if needed. The lead guide continues with the rest of the group. The remaining party is not affected and can continue with their climb as planned.
When we head for the summit, we usually have one staff member for every two clients or more. In addition to our guides, we have “summit porters” who assist our guides during the final ascent. These summit porters are strong, skilled, and can communicate in basic English. They can help with encouragement, provide snacks and hot drinks, assist with clothing, offer support on tricky terrain, or carry your daypack. These little things can make a big difference when you’re tired.
Not all companies can provide this level of support due to a lack of staff. Our high guide-to-climber ratio is a standard practice for the top Kilimanjaro operators. For Nyange Adventures, it’s just one of the ways we go the extra mile to make your Kilimanjaro experience the best it can be.
Our lead guide, assistant guides, and summit porters are capable of bringing climbers down early. If someone turns back due to exhaustion, they can rest at a high camp and rejoin their group on the descent. If there’s illness or injury, the climber may need to leave the mountain for rest at lower elevations or receive medical treatment.
Sometimes, reaching the summit isn’t possible, and that’s okay. The challenge is what makes the journey worthwhile. Safety is always our top priority. If you or your guides decide it’s time to stop climbing, don’t be too disappointed. Your health is the most important thing. Pushing on when your body can’t handle it is risky and is a leading cause of accidents in the industry.
Many factors contribute to a successful climb, and not making it this time doesn’t mean you can’t try again with some adjustments like route changes, better training, appropriate gear, adequate food, and rest.