Porters are an integral part of our trek and of supply chains for everyday life throughout the mountains of Nepal.
It doesn’t take anyone very long to realize that without our support team, we wouldn’t get very far. After the first day watching porters carry their loads up hours of stone staircases, we are all in appreciative awe of their strength and endurance.
The strongest porters carry over 200 lbs.!
Regulations for fair treatment of porters means that porters with our trek groups carry 75-100lbs each, which includes kitchen and food supplies as well as emergency support like oxygen and a gammow bag. We also ensure they have warm clothes, good shoes, and are covered by emergency insurance. Porters who serve EBC, the teahouses, and local villages along the way carry more weight to earn more money. The strongest will carry up to 220 lbs. each–for hours uphill at high altitude!
This can also present a problem when expedition porters are given sufficient time for acclimatization to carry heavy loads to base camp, but they disregard the rules in order to save their money. Every year, some porter fall sick because they carry extremely heavy loads too far, too fast. Fortunately, porters with our group travel at our pace–and we take good care of them.