Guide ratios

The rule

On a trek, one guide to a group of five. Above five, a lead guide and two assistants. No group larger than ten, on any route, for any price.

Above the snowline the ratio tightens: one high-altitude porter for every two climbers, and a dedicated one for you alone if you ask for it at booking. It tightens rather than loosens as the ground gets harder, which is the opposite of how a group gets cheaper to run.

The number exists for one reason: so that when a guest has to turn back, a qualified person can go down with them and the rest of the group can keep going. A party that cannot split is a party that moves at the pace of its worst day.

Who the guides work for

Ours, year round, on our payroll. Not hired per trip and not borrowed from another operator when a departure fills. The guide who answers your call before you book is the guide who walks with you, and if that changes we tell you before you pay rather than at the airport.

Qualifications carried

At least one wilderness first responder on every departure, without exception. Lead guides hold every certification the work requires: a government guiding licence, a DTS licence, and an Alpine Club of Pakistan grade. All of it is renewed annually. We will send the current certificate for the named guide on your departure if you ask, and we would rather you asked.

Porters and high-altitude staff

Covered separately in the porter charter. The short version: insured on every trip, issued equipment, published wages paid in full.

The decision that cannot be overruled

The lead guide can turn a group back, change a route or end an attempt at any point. That decision is final. It cannot be overruled by a guest, by an agent, or by this office. We put that in writing here because the moment it matters is the moment somebody will try.