Although many Kilimanjaro guides choose their profession out of passion, remember that guides are human beings that have the same pressures as other people. They usually have a family that relies on their income, including children and elders.
In a country without social security and where people are still working to move up to a higher income level, pay is an important motivator.
Tipping is a major component of pay for all guides, particularly for those that are employed by operators who do not treat their staff fairly. With many very low cost budget operators, guides rely solely on a tip. The highest tips are usually paid by happy climbers after they’ve reached the summit.
Ask yourself: Would you be willing to give your guide a big tip if he forced you to descend before reaching the summit? As long as you have doubts whether that decision was really necessary and whether you could still have reached the summit, you will be unlikely to reward your guide for keeping you from reaching your dream.
Unfortunately, those hard decisions to force climbers to stop often have to be made by guides under uncertain conditions. You might have made it and stayed safe, or you might have suffered severely – perhaps even with your life – if you had continued to push.
This is why it is important for you to understand that guides have a natural incentive to get you to the summit, even if it is risky. However, this is less likely to happen with an ethical company that pays their porters and guides fairly.
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