In Conversation with Ake Lindstrom from Summits Africa and Leonotis

Whilst there, Ake was tasked with developing their climbing side of things. East Africa – Kenya and Northern Tanzania in particular – are something of a climbing Mecca. Mt. Kenya and Kilimanjaro are the jewels in the crown but there’s a huge number of hikes and climbs, whatever the fitness and aspiration level of the climbers. Ake realised that, in order to create a sustainable model in the climbing industry, he had to treat his porters fairly. ‘Back in the day, they were exploited and marginalised, so that was an easy place to focus and quickly build up a strong stable of guides.’

And so, in 2007, he branched out alone. Summits Africa was the result, an organisation that he describes as a ‘plug and play for adventurers, with a basic ethos of looking after our people.’ It’s B2B and covers three specs: standard, luxury and VIP. ‘We look after all our employees and pay them fairly, so our price point is higher than some,’ Ake says, ‘but we can basically cater to any needs’. This is the plug and play aspect, a unique model that allows clients to construct their adventure from a range of different places.

As the name suggests, Summits is about climbing, and clients are spoilt for choice. ‘We have set departures and itineraries, so people can select what’s best for them.’ That could be Kenya and Kili, or it could be an 8-day trek on Lemosho, a trek that has a success rate of over 90%. Ake shows me a member’s area on the website that outlines – in phenomenal detail – the different trips, routes and price points available. I’m not going to go into detail on all of them as there are simply too many, but suffice to say that adventurers will be salivating. Ake’s passion for the mountains of East Africa is glorious to see, his stories of dark skies above Kili and wildlife in the Meru cone are enough to get anyone to put their phone down and look up. With Ake’s model, implemented by a 100% Tanzanian Summits team, clients can build town and city stop-offs into their trips. ‘Northern Tanzania has so much going on. You can be Arusha sipping coffee and cocktails with all the trimmings one day, on the mountain the next.’

It all sounds, frankly, amazing. And it is, Ake says, but it’s not without its challenges. That’s the thing about a proper adventure, they can be tough. His other organisation, Leonotis Adventures, is a prime example. ‘They’re treks and camps with a real persona, so people understand what’s going on with them’, he says. There are a few main treks, each unique, each pretty jaw-dropping in its own right. They all stem from the first camp, Natron, where Ake bought a tented camp a decade ago and has now installed a higher-end product with en suite bathrooms and bigger tents. It was from this remarkable, secluded spot that Ake first devised the Leonotis model: hiking that ends in the camp. It’s a holistic product, constructed by the team, that is much more than just a trek through the bush.

On the subject of treks, the Leonotis offing is an incredible one. The Great Rift Valley trek is, in Ake’s opinion, ‘the best in all of East Africa.’ Over the course of a few days, trekkers take in a huge variety of habitats, from lake-filled craters with pitch and move on fly camps, to active volcanoes and the welcome luxury of Natron Camp. They also pass by the single biggest lesser flamingo breeding site anywhere on Earth, a natural wonder worth the journey alone. And it’s a proper adventure. ‘It’s hot, dusty, it’s raw. It’s not opulent, it’s real Africa’, Ake is keen to tell me. ‘We have wind storms, they happen regularly.’ He’s so keen, in fact, to stress the realness of the Leonotis adventure that people at trade shows have remarked on how he’s not trying to sell his trips. ‘I am, but I’m a pragmatist.’

That sense of raw adventure extends to the other great trek that Ake and his team offer: Footsteps of Mankind. ‘This is a special journey, which basically tracks our story as a species,’ he says, ‘there are Hominid footprints right by the camp, our species.’ By the end of the trek, though, the footprints get a little older. ‘You’ve got 3.6-million-year-old footprints at the end, that really is the journey of us. The trek is super raw, cave paintings, arrow heads, obsidian heads etcetera.’ Somehow Ake doesn’t sound gushy or OTT when he describes what Footsteps of Mankind is all about, he sounds genuinely enthralled: ‘it’s about understanding our place in the universe, introspection, stripping things back.’ Trekkers fly camp for part of the trip, a fabulous way to do exactly that. ‘We’ve had people come here who think of it as gold dust, for others it’s too much. But we’ve had a lot of people who want to disconnect and rediscover, even with kids.’

That’s really what everything that Ake and his team has to offer is all about. Constructing adventures for people that want – even need – them. Whether that be wounded warriors, ex NFL players, people overcoming life’s challenges, the group of high-flyers coming in the following week for a week long tour, if you can dream it up, Summits and Leonotis can make it happen. For reasons of word count, I simply can’t go into all the detail of every trip but I thoroughly recommend a browse of the websites – these are adventurers’ adventures.

Moving forward, Ake wants to continue refining his product(s). ‘We have to move with the market to stay relevant. Natron, for example, is quite a lot softer than it used to be. We even have e-bikes.’ Tech is also changing the way they do business, innovating in remote areas and allowing them to access places never previously on the map. Although they’re still B2B, Ake wants to expand their sales capabilities, to reach more people in more markets. As we wind up, I’m left with the overriding sense of the sheer scale of what’s on offer through Summits and Leonotis. Huge adventures under vast skies and nothing but wildlife and wilderness for company. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me want to get out there and see what it’s all about. If only to lower that screen time by a few minutes.