If you’re a sucker for nostalgia like us, buckle up. We’re throwing it all the way back to our first official WHOA Adventure: Kilimanjaro International Women’s Day 2014.
Now, as we're deep into our thirteenth year of trekking to 19,341 feet, we're reflecting on just how massive the impact of our initial idea turned out to be. And while a lot has changed with WHOA and in the world since that first hike, the heart of it all hasn't.
So let’s throw it back and take a look at then vs. now: what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and the impact of our long-term commitment.
THEN
28 women from 11 countries believed in a new little company with a big idea, and joined WHOA Co-Founders Allison and Danielle for a historic summit on Kilimanjaro.
NOW
We're a community of over 1,000 women who've climbed Kilimanjaro the WHOA Way. Behind the scenes, Allison and Danielle are still climbing right alongside them (15x collectively and counting), because we genuinely love this mountain and always will. In 2016, Nicole, the Kili Queen, and Karen, who's been living part-time in Arusha and Zanzibar for over a decade, joined our core Kili team, and they're still on the ground supporting every group we send up. Over a decade in, and we're as passionate about this mountain, and about sharing it with more women, as we've ever been!
THEN
We were greeted at the summit by glaciers reflecting in the morning light, just 200 miles from the equator, one of the only places on Earth where ice has ever formed this close to it.
NOW
They're shrinking, and we've noticed it with our own two eyes. Studies show Kilimanjaro's glaciers have decreased by 85% in the past century, and the United Nations warns they'll disappear entirely by 2050 due to climate change. It's one of the reasons we're so committed to causes like 1% for the Planet and partnerships like KPAP, who work hard to keep trekking as sustainable as possible. The glaciers' retreat may be out of our control, but our dedication to protecting the places we love to explore isn't.
THEN
The majority of the people we met on the mountain were men.
NOW
The mountain looks more like the world we know. Not only are there more women hiking, there are more female guides and crew members working side by side with men, too. Our goal is for 50% of our mountain guide crew to be women, a number we landed on after talking with our local partners about what's realistic and safe to build toward on this mountain. And we're not done growing it. It's a goal that takes mentorship and commitment, one we've upheld for years. We like to think we've played a role in that, alongside the long-term women-led partners we work with season after season.
THEN
We invited Magdalena and Christina, two Tanzanian women we met at a vocational school in Moshi, who were eager to experience the mountain they'd heard so much about, and that employed so many of their brothers.
NOW
We've formalized this process with our 501(c)(3), The Carabiner Collective, so that we can support more women in harnessing the power of adventure in Tanzania and beyond. We've expanded the program to include both female guides and women around the world, because we never want these experiences we believe in so deeply to be gatekept or out of reach for others.
THEN
Our mission was lofty: travel could be a force for good, and hikes like this were bigger than ourselves.
NOW
We're in our 13th year, and we've carried that same energy and philosophy to adventures on all seven continents. We've grown our reach, but we've stayed small and founder-run on purpose, Allison and Danielle are still hands-on in every trip we plan. We're still committed to doing it right, creating community, and supporting local partners every step of the way. Every trip we run is still built on the same idea we started with, that travel, done well, changes more than just the traveler.
Thirteen years in, and the mountain has taught us as much as we've tried to give back to it. We've watched the glaciers shrink, so we fight harder for the causes that protect it. We've watched more women join us on the trail, so we keep building the guide crew and community that make that possible. And through it all, we're still the same small, founder-run team that fell in love with this mountain back in 2014. If you've ever felt the pull to summit Kilimanjaro, come see what makes doing it the WHOA way so different.