Thanks for a fantastic time out here, fingers crossed I can get back out soon!

(Africamper)

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Adventure Alternatives

The Expedition, Trek, Safari and Gap company. Professional, ethical adventure holidays around the world

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Adventure Alternative going forward

 

Despite such a deep recession, we have noticed that people are unwilling to cancel their big holiday to the likes of Kilimanjaro or Nepal. It is still a sacrosanct dream! In fact we have been more busy this year than the first half of last year. I put this down to two things:

1) The years of effort I have put into training & development of my staff in the host countries where we operate has been paying off in the last few years. All of my staff in Kenya, Tanzania, Nepal and Russia have now been with AA for ten years and more, and I believe that is testament to a genuine approach to tourism which enables careers.

2) We are well priced and we continue to offer a personalised and informed service. In comparison with other companies, people can see that we are not being unfair, and we are considerate of the fact that for people who want to stand on top of Kilimanjaro or Elbrus, or go to Everest Base Camp, it is a lifelong dream, not just a holiday.                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                 The view from Camp 1 on Mt Everest, May 2009

I firmly believe that if the product is good, it will sell itself, and that is what I am seeing from the feedback we get.

For example:

"What I’m trying to say is that we had such a fantastic holiday that we would both like to thank you all at Adventure Alternative and everyone involved in Moshi – especially Castro, Cornell, Kamanda, Lipman, Patrick & Ali for all their help and support and we will and have recommended Adventure Alternative to all our friends and relatives."

Jordan Smart, Kilimanjaro, March 2009

"The experience I had with Adventure Alternative was one that I will never forget, everyone was extremely helpful and so so kind. Any problems I had were dealt with quickly and without fuss. Every member of staff is genuinely caring about you as a person and it is clear that they want you to have the best experience possible. I had a life changing experience, at the orphanage, the school, the hospital, and every step of the way I had support and friendship from the adventure alternative team. I hope to get back out there, and I have strongly encouraged others to consider travelling with AA also."

April McKeown, Medical Elective in Kenya, November 2008

Occasionally we do get negative feedback, but with hand on heart I have been able to look deeply into each case and answer all the comments without feeling that we as a company have lost any integrity. There are occasional misunderstandings between my local staff and clients, but these are because of cultural differences, and this is inevitable when I put so much emphasis on them taking responsibility for the trip. They are the ambassadors of their country, not me.

For them, it is a continual learning experience dealing with the infinite variety of characters that they meet from all over the world; and for me it is a big part of the fun of running an adventure travel company with such a defined business model and specific strategy. 

This is not a dry marketing document, it is working with real people in developing countries.

As much as my staff in all the different countries do so well, it is Chris Little, Andrew MacDonald and Rosie Crennell in the Northern Ireland who field all the enquiries and manage the correspondence and accounts. They do this with a natural ability to put people at ease on the telephone (not a small skill by any means) and a down to earth truthfulness which people like. Behind the scenes of every trip that goes out is a lot of planning which is not easy. Information is gathered and collated and passed to the relevant overseas offices, money is sent out in time, things are booked on an individual basis and everything is monitored. For two people (Chris and Andy mainly) to manage over 500 clients a year to 8 different countries and 10 currencies, working with 28 staff abroad and an average of 100 emails a day, I would be entirely remiss in not recognising that they are the engine of the ship. I am deeply proud that they have reflected my management principles, but with a personal integrity that is unbeatable.

With Adventure Alternative doing so well, and so strongly supporting Moving Mountains which is also doing very well, I am looking forward to the future with a positive attitude and an eye on new peaks, new trips and a return to my passion for mountains.

In particular I am now running climbing trips to new 6 and 7000 metre peaks in Nepal - details will be posted on this website in the coming weeks. But here is a taster:

Pokalde - mostly rock scrambling to a beautiful fluted peak with fabulous views over the confluence of valleys above Pheriche and Dingboche in the Khumbu region. From the summit there are classic views of Ama Dablam. The campsite below the peak is lovely, very quiet with a lake nearby. This climb can be added onto a trek to Everest Base Camp.

Lobuje East - mixed climbing on the other side of the valley from Pokalde, this peak has classic views of the Everest Three (Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse) and overlooks the whole Khumbu glacier. There is a high camp on snow and a ridge climb to the summit. Again, this can be added to the trek to Everest BC.

Mera Peak - a snow climb to just over 6000 metres (about the same height as Denali in North America), and over in the Makalu Barun Area, the journey in to this mountain is less busy than the Everest trail and very beautiful. The climb itself is not difficult technically. Classic views from the summit of course, and a very achievable mountaineering goal.

Ama Dablam - the classic Matterhorn of the Himalayas, this peak at just over 22,000 feet is technical and steep. Lots of air beneath your feet on the top sections, and some inspirational campsites, but not for the fainthearted or inexperienced.

Baruntse - a tough 7000 metre peak with some classic ridge climbing, and a serious mountaineering achievement if you summit.

Everest - our next guided trip on the highest peak in the world will be in 2011, and we are now taking applications for the pre-monsoon season. Price tag will be USD$45,000. We will be using supplemental oxygen and full camp facilities and climbing Sherpas on the normal South East ridge route. Great views from the top.

..and over in India we will be opening up a new trek into the Ladakh region with a summit of Stok Kangri.

In China next year I will be running a trip to Mustagh Ata, a non-technical peak of 7600 metres in the Pamirs, with an opportunity to ski from the summit.

And in Antarctica I will be taking a small (rich) group of people to climb Mt Vinson. The price tag is a hefty USD$28,000 but it is very remote and far away. Not especially technical, the challenge is partly in dealing with the extreme temperatures, but the experience of climbing the highest peak on this continent cannot easily be put into words.

So there is much to be proud of right now, and a lot to look forward to. You can contact us to pencil in your name for any of these trips and thank you for all of your continued interest and loyalty to Adventure Alternative.

Gavin Bate

Director