49 YEARS - ROCK SOLID
International:
North America:
49 YEARS - ROCK SOLID
International:
North America:
Our guides are mountain-tested High Altitude First Responders, trained to read every sign in your body, and every shift in the mountain weather. For decades they’ve led thousands to the summit. And when things get serious with other companies, they turn to Tusker Guides for medical assistance.
With international evacuation coverage and medical expertise from intense training and decades on Kilimanjaro they are ready around the clock. They are also incredible Performance Coaches who instill confidence in our climbers. Tusker doesn’t just show you the path; we provide you with the safest and most dependable path to the summit.
Safety-Focused Climbs
On Kilimanjaro, safety isn’t a checklist – it’s the lifeline that runs through every step you take. Our guides move with hawk-eyed vigilance, reading your body, your breath, your spirit. They tune the climb to your pace, monitor vitals with a medic’s precision, and keep morale sharp when the grind bites back.
Changes in altitude, sudden storms, the mountain’s moods – they’ve handled it all. And if the unexpected strikes? You’re backed by global evacuation power and a guide team forged in decades of high-altitude grit.
We don’t gamble with safety. It’s our primary focus.
Your Elite Guides
When you climb with Tusker, you’re not just following a guide – you’re locking step with legends. These are Kilimanjaro’s elite, High Altitude First Responders who’ve led thousands to the summit and trained countless others in how it’s done.
They’ve got the mountain in their blood and your safety wired into every move. When the air thins and the climb gets brutal, they’re the ones firing up your spirit and leading you higher. With a Tusker guide at your side, Kilimanjaro becomes your triumph, not just a dream.
Guides Forged at Altitude
Climbing Kilimanjaro with Tusker means stepping into five decades of mountain-hard experience. Eddie Frank and his team set the standard through years of grit, not theory. This is part of the “modern-day climb.”
Every Tusker guide grew up in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, with hundreds of summits behind them and the mountain etched into their instincts. Medically trained as High Altitude First Responders, they carry both your safety and your spirit with unshakable resolve.
When the climb turns brutal, their command and teamwork keeps you steady, motivating you higher toward the summit.
Signature Mountain Camp
Your camp on Kilimanjaro is no accident -it’s designed with precision. Eddie Frank draws on 49 years of climbing to understand the right gear and the perfect spot at every site: sheltered, strategic, and soul-stirring.
One night you’ll drift off to the strange cries of tree hyraxes in the rain forest, and on another you’ll brace against the Barafu camp.
Inside your full sized walk-in tent, daily rest and recovery is underscored by your thick air-foam mattresses, gear built for rest.
It’s also hot meals fired up fresh at altitude. These are more than stopovers; they’re the places you reset, gather strength, and fix your eyes on the summit. Every camp reflects the same spirit as the climb – crafted by adventurers, for adventurers.
The Power
Behind Your Climb
On Kilimanjaro, you’re never out there alone. Every Tusker climb runs with a full support network—from your Booking to your summit Breakthrough, and back down. Our team has your back, from headquarters in Lake Tahoe to the slopes of the mountain.
It begins with veteran planners shaping your journey, then flows to our Moshi ground team, porters, and guides who carry the climb with you. Communication never breaks – guides keep constant contact via licensed VHF radios and mobile phones with our base in Moshi and Tusker HQ, at Lake Tahoe – and Ripcord for air evacuations.
When the unexpected hits, we act fast, clear and decisive.
Altitude & Acclimatization
What You Need to Know
Summiting Kilimanjaro isn’t about charging uphill to be first at camp – it’s about climbing smart, steady, and safe. Altitude is the real test, and proper acclimatization is the key to success. That’s why Tusker designs every climb with extra days to adjust and routes that work with your body, not against it.
Our guides are intensely prepared as High Altitude First Responders, skilled at setting the right pace and spotting the earliest signs of altitude effects to keep you healthy and strong.
With daily health checks and proven protocols, success isn’t left to chance – it’s built in.
Using Diamox to Prevent Altitude Sickness
Understanding Diamox
Altitude sickness is the biggest reason climbers turn back on Kilimanjaro. Diamox (acetazolamide), a prescription medication, can help by making your blood more acidic-triggering faster breathing and increasing oxygen in your system.
It’s not a cure or a promise, but it can ease symptoms, speed adaptation, and give you a stronger shot at the summit.
Common symptoms of altitude sickness:
While Diamox can help, the best defence against AMS is a smart climb plan. That’s why Tusker favours longer, slower routes that give your body time to adjust naturally to the altitude.
Our High Altitude First Responder guides monitor your health closely and never push you to climb faster than your body allows. Safety is the goal, and the summit is the reward. With the right pace, the right team, and the right support, you’ll give yourself the best shot at standing on top.
Tusker’s Take on Acclimatisation
Our High Altitude First Responder guides track your health daily, adjusting pace to match your body-not the clock. Safety always comes first; the summit follows. With smart pacing, vigilant care, and a seasoned team at your side, you set yourself up not just to climb higher, but to stand tall on Kilimanjaro’s summit.
Medical Monitoring & Emergency Gear
Tusker’s safety systems were forged by those who know the mountain inside out. Founder and veteran guide Eddie Frank joined forces with wilderness physician Dr. Greg Bledsoe to create the High Altitude First Responder course – the only medical training built specifically for Kilimanjaro.
Eddie has led Kilimanjaro climbs for 49 years; Dr. Bledsoe has advised the U.S. Secret Service and Special Forces. Together, they built a gold-standard program that prepares guides for the brutal realities of altitude, ensuring that true safety begins long before the summit push – and follows you every step on the rest of the climb.
Tusker’s elite guides watch your acclimatization like hawks. Twice a day, they run full checks with stethoscopes, pulse oximeters, and hard-earned mountain sense – catching the warning signs of AMS before they take hold.
Loss of appetite, headaches, appetite loss, sleepless nights, even a flicker in your mood – they don’t miss a thing. That vigilance drives Tusker’s 98% healthy summit success.
Every climb includes the kind of gear you’d expect from a team with nearly five decades of Kilimanjaro experience.
Your crew carries:
If an emergency demands air evacuation, Tusker’s long-standing partnership with Redpoint Ripcord activates without delay. Built into the cost of your trek, this world-class safety net delivers fast, decisive action when it matters most, giving you unmatched protection every step of the journey.
Endorsed by Medical Experts Worldwide
Dr. Michael Callahan
Dr. Michael Callahan, physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and former DARPA leader, pioneered research on pandemics and human survival in extreme environments. Working alongside Eddie Frank, they trained U.S. Special Forces for high-altitude strategies , blending DARPA science to prepare soldiers for the harshest conditions on earth.
Dr. Greg Bledsoe
Dr. Bledsoe is Tusker Trail’s Physician Adviser. He spent five years on faculty in John Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine and held the role of instructor and medical consultant to the United States Secret Service, and high-altitude medical advisor for the U.S. Special Forces.
Dr. Bledsoe is also the founder of EXPEDMED.ORG, which conducts annual expedition medical conferences and CME expeditions. Tusker has run numerous wilderness medical credit CME expeditions for the organization up Kilimanjaro.
During our 49 years in adventure travel we have established enduring global alliances with the following professional organizations:
