It might seem like a good idea to hand over your heavy rucksack to a local eager for the work, but there is increasing concern over the treatment of mountain porters who often have little more equipment than flip-flops and a plastic bag to protect them from the rain and snow. In the Himalayas, along the Inca Trail, and up Mount Kilimanjaro, porters have endured frostbite, altitude sickness and hyperthermia. According to the International Porter Protection Group (ippg.net), they suffer from more accidents and illness than Western trekkers.

The best way to ensure the porters you hire are treated fairly is to use a travel company that has a porter protection policy, which should provide them with appropriate equipment and ensure they have a proper overnight shelter. Tourism Concern’s website (tourismconcern.org.uk) provides a list of the ones that do.

You can also donate gear, such as wind shells, woolly hats, waterproof jackets and trousers, socks and boots (up to size 9) to porters in Nepal, Peru and Tanzania through the International Mountain Explorers Connection (hec.org). And there’s a “clothing bank” in Thamel, Kathmandu, where equipment needed to keep a porter safe and warm on the trail can be exchanged for a small, refundable deposit (portersprogress.org).

This article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian.