Some climbing companies claim to have their own internal porter monitoring programs. At Fair Voyage, we question the claims of such companies because there is no review by an independent organization separate from the company. As a result, it’s not possible to verify if they truly adhere to fair porter treatment standards.
Some companies may have arguments for why it’s not necessary to be a KPAP Partner. Unfortunately, these arguments often distort the truth of what KPAP does and stands for. That’s why we want to highlight the most used arguments and clarify what is not true about them.
- MYTH: KPAP porters are not being sufficiently trained/vetted
Some companies claim that they do not know the KPAP porters or their capacities. However, this statement does not match with reality. KPAP performs trainings twice a year with their investigative porters and makes sure that they assign porters with sufficient experience for each route. Many high-quality operators are using KPAP porters and are thereby proof that this is not an issue.
- MYTH: KPAP collects confidential personal client info
Some companies claim they don’t want to release their climb schedules because of their high profile clients. No specific client details are required. The company informs KPAP of the route, start and end dates of the climb, and the number of climbers. These are kept strictly confidential and under no circumstances will KPAP receive the identity of the climbers. KPAP has never and will never ask for the identity of climbers. Several 5 * luxury operators with VIP clients are KPAP partners and thus the best proof that this is not a concern.
- MYTH: KPAP has its own climbing operations
This is not true. KPAP is a non-profit organization and has never sold any climbs. When KPAP receives requests from climbers or agents they refer such inquiries to their complete list of partner companies.
- MYTH: KPAP is not necessary to bring meaningful improvement to porter welfare standards
Some companies claim that they don’t need the help of KPAP to improve their operations and porter welfare standards. In their opinion, KPAP’s involvement is beneficial when a company has no time to monitor their own work and see whether their porters and other crew members are treated in accordance with porter welfare standards. Â
However, none of those internal monitoring efforts are independent and as such, it is not possible to ascertain whether their initiatives are legitimate or not. What makes KPAP different from any type of internal monitoring is that KPAP is independent. It has no specific interest in any company whatsoever. KPAP does its work to accomplish its mission of improving the working conditions of porters. As a result, its audits and criteria for companies to become partners are completely objective and transparent.
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