My post is earlier in this thread describing what I looked for in an outfitter. I didn't do the Western Breach due to the route being closed. I couldn't postpone the trip. Tusker Trails substituted a modified Lemosho route. It was kind of disappointing near the end because we had to leave the Western Breach route and join up on the more crowded routes. Western Breach is great because it's not very crowded at all. You could really tell the difference when we had to join the other routes. The itinerary is great too because it's around 2000 feet of elevation gain a day - a perfect rate of ascent for acclimatization. I'll have to dig up my journal to figure out exactly where we stayed.

The difference in quality of the outfitters was also very apparent on the main route - the quality of the tents, how clean/well set up the camps were, etc.

Back in 2006, I was targeting around $3k as my price point, but it seems that it's gotten higher. The high-end back then was pretty easy to identify - Tusker Trails, Thomson, Mountain Madness, and Kiliwarriors (I think Kiliwarriors may have changed their name). All of these guys were charging about the same amount, had the same reputation, and seemed to be of equal quality. Some companies, like Thomson, have led trips for celebrities. Thomson was the outfitter that David Breashears used for his Imax movie about Kilimanjaro, so that's a pretty strong recommendation right there. (Though, I imagine Breashears could have run up in a single day if he wanted to.) I believe Thomson also took a bunch of celebrities like Jessica Biel up for a charity climb. (something about clean water for Africa) I didn't go with Thomson because they were something like $1000 more than Tusker for Western Breach, and I was satisified with Tusker after talking to them.

The next tier of guides were generally pretty good, but didn't have the same level of training and equipment. One difference I noticed back then was that these guys tended to have 1 day fewer on their scheduled treks - makes for a cheaper trip, but hurts your success chances.

The tier below these guys was really variable from what I could tell. All of them stuck to the main coca-cola routes and had short trek times. I think these guys are the ones who bring down the overall average success rate to less than 50%. Success on the mountain is generally dictated by your ability to acclimatize, and these guys have the fewest days on mountain. It's fine if you're young, fit, and genetically predisposed to acclimatize, but for most people it turns into a real struggle.

When I was interviewing guides, I had a set of questions I wanted to ask to check on their safety consciousness. I quizzed them about what their procedures were for various situations - climbers getting sick, suffering from altitude sickness, getting injured, etc. What were their evacuation procedures? What did resources did they have in place? There's no helicopter evac from Kilimanjaro, so it has to be stretcher carry. Do they have plans in place to deal with that situation? What training did the guides have? What safety equipment and how/when do they use it? What medications?

I also quizzed them on porter care - what equipment did the porters have? Where did they sleep? I asked about equipment they supplied - brand names and whatnot. I also asked about their success rate and if they could substantiate it. What was their safety record? Quizzed them on what they considered the keys to success and safety.

When I arrived in Tanzania, we did an orientation with the guides; and Tusker did a great job. They went over all of their safety equipment, the health checks they would do, showed us the gear we would be using, explained the roles of the guides and porters, covered emergency procedures, etc. So, I had high confidence before we got on the mountain.

Now, it's certainly possible that you could get a bait and switch, but if the company you've researched seems to check out, at some point you have to trust. One thing you could do is ask them for the name and contact info for one of their previous climbers and talk to them.

Also, I wouldn't necessarily use price as the measure of how good a company is. The company you're looking at for $3k could very well be as good as a $5k company. The higher end companies do spend more on marketing, so a smaller company may be able to provide the same service at a lower price. I know I go on about higher-end companies, but I don't want you to think you have to pay a lot for good quality guiding.

In doing the financial analysis, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. One thing I noticed was that Tusker included nights at a hotel before and after the climb, which some guides did not. This made a difference in price. So, you have to make sure you're comparing the same things. See how many nights on the trek, as well, since this makes a huge difference in price.

You could just ask DETASA right out - why are they cheaper and are you giving up anything important at a lower price? See how well the company communicates.

I don't think I looked at DETASA back in 2006. Hmmm, and I just checked Tusker and it looks like they don't do the Western Breach anymore. They're only offering the Lemosho route I took before. It doesn't like Thomson does it anymore either - they call theirs the "Western Approach" route. Both of them look like they do the route I did in '06. Interesting - maybe they're avoiding the climb through the Western Breach.

I looked at DETASA's itinerary for the Western Breach, and they're only 8 days on the mountain. Tusker is 9 for their shortest Lemosho route. Tusker's Machame route is only 7 days on the mountain which I wouldn't recommend.
Thomson is 10 days on the mountain for their Western Approach route which is probably why they're at $5k. The number of days is a big difference in terms of cost. For each day, you have to add in costs for the park fees, paying the porters, food for everyone, etc. so it can get expensive.

One consideration you have to ask yourself is how well you acclimatize. I'd done treks in Peru (Inca Trail and treks in the Cordillera Blanca), so I knew how well I did at around 15k feet (I don't acclimatize well, btw). Could you get by with fewer days on the mountain?