To Port or Not to Port?

An argument for the (ethical) use of porters and guides.

I want to start by saying trekking anywhere, even somewhere familiar, carries many risks. I consider myself to be an experienced and independent hiker; I have sound navigation skills, I plan, pack and carry all my own gear and understand the inherent danger of strapping 17kg to your back and walking out into the wilderness for weeks on end.

Even in saying this, I have found in the great world of trekking, Charles Darwins words ring true;

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."

Even in the best conditions, at the right time of year with the right gear, things can go wrong, and if you are alone, a manageable situation can become a dire one.

This brings me to my first point;

Will I be safe without a guide and porter?

Deciding to go trekking without a guide or porter is often done when walking on well marked, crowded trails, possibly with many opportunities to stop for supplies or, if needed, help. This decision is also often made because a porter or guide are seen to be an unnecessary cost, or in some way ‘cheating’. It only takes about 0.51 seconds for google to show you article after article of trekkers meeting their end on the mountain, but what it doesn’t so easily show you are the thousands of people who safely completed their journey, even sometimes despite things such as altitude sickness or injury.

If you go without a guide will you die? Almost certainly not, 99 times out of 100 you would be fine on these treks. Will having one improve the situation if misadventure arises? Without a doubt.

As an example, whilst I was in Nepal I joined a hike Pokhara with a locally sourced guide and some porters. By the time we reached a little over 3000m, the fittest of our trekking companions became ill and it was immediately evident that she had altitude sickness. Although we were on a well signed track, not far from a village and had no ‘novice’ trekkers among us (one man who just came from his 9th time summiting Ama Dablam), the presence of our experienced, English speaking guide and a few porters made it a seemingly effortless task to arrange for an extra guide and porters from a nearby village to arrive with medicine and assist her back to Pokhara so that the rest of us could continue our trek.

But I can carry my own pack

I struggle letting even Pat carry my luggage at the airport so the idea of having someone carry my pack, which I am more than capable of carrying myself, was initially very unappealing. My guide in Sikkim in India - a trek on which I chose to carry my own pack - told me how he worked his way up from a porter to a guide through years of practicing his English on treks with westerners, an informal education of sorts. Instead of leaving his family home on the border of Nepal and India to do hard labor in a larger cities to send money home, being able to ascend in the Trekking industry gave him the means to support his family in a way otherwise impossible. Here I was on my high horse, carrying my own pack out of sheer pride, but in doing so I was possibly depriving another young guide-to-be from such an opportunity. Guides and Porters are not just for the incompetent nor the inept, and once I got over my pride enough to realise that I have never looked back.

I will feel guilty watching them carry my stuff

Yes. Initially. But like all things we are initially uncomfortable with, the more we hike with porters and guides, the more comfortable with it we’ll get. Hiring a porter is an opportunity to connect with them, allowing them to practice their English and earn a living, and for you to meet with a local whom you’d otherwise never converse with. Engage, have a conversation; even if it is in totally broken English and flailing arm signals - yes it will be awkward at first but some of the most incredible human stories I have ever heard have come from breaking through that initial awkwardness and having amazing conversations with porters.

Also, an easy way to reduce your guilt is not being precious about what you pack. Keep it lightweight, leave non-essentials at a home base. Only pack what YOU would be willing to carry and always use your manners - just because you are paying them does not mean that they are your servants.

other perks of a porter and guide

Do you speak fluent Nepali? Bengali? Spanish? Quecha? Hindi? Assamese? Burmese? What about all of the regional Dialects? If yes, email me, you must be an incredible individual and one worth meeting. If, like me, that is a hard no, then having someone walking with you who speaks the language and knows the local people, customs and culture will make your trek so much more immersive. Through my relationships with porters I have seen and eaten things I would have walked straight past, communicated with locals with whom I would never have met. Through a porter, I was invited into a quaint mud hut and cooked corn over an open indoor fire with his aunt - through a porter I have followed guides down paths seemly untrodden to find vistas unknown to any blog or travel book. Porters and Guides are locals, if you do your research, get an experienced local, it will more than pay for itself.

How do I make sure my money goes to the right people?

For this there is no easy answer. It would be very convenient if some kind of international register of responsible trekking companies existed but due to the fluid nature of many of the big ticket trekking countries, the few that are out there are often vague or outdated. The International Mountain Explorers Connection (IMEC) is as close as you will get, this non-for-profit organisation out of Boulder Colorado USA has a list of responsible travel partners who comply with an ethical code of guide and porter treatment. Although this a great start, it is hardly a comprehensive list. The International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) has some excellent guidelines on choosing a trekking company with a list of questions to ask. I like to do a little research online before going but mostly I have booked treks whilst on the ground in base towns such as Darjeeling or Pokhara. Once prices are negotiated I ask upfront how much cut the guide and porter get and request that I pay the porters myself. Sometimes this solicits a strange reaction but I have found most companies are fine with it. If not, they probably aren’t doing the right thing.

Have any other suggestions on how to find an ethical trekking company? We’d love you to post them in the comments below!