About the Kuluar family

Family is the first word that popped into my head when I sat down to write my "About Us" article. Kuluar is not just a company. Kuluar is a team of friends who have become a real family over the years of working together. We accept each other's peculiarities and have learned to work with them, share hobbies and enjoy everyone's achievements as our own.

I am writing this article to introduce the reader to our principles, aspirations, and history. If they resonate with yours, welcome to the big family called “Kuluar”!

About happiness

Some people spend their whole life looking for the meaning of life, but for me, it is simple: to be happy and to share this happiness with others. 

Any company is a reflection of its founder, his principles and guidelines. Kuluar in many ways reflects my life beliefs. 

We have taken it upon ourselves to help people be happier. 

We took on the responsibility to help people be happier. 

As a team, we formulated our mission: "To make people happier by opening up the world of mountains to them."

I can confidently say that we are doing a good job. We've opened up the world of mountains to more than 11,000 members, and 97-98% of them are satisfied and happier. Just read the reviews they send us. They inspire us to work even harder to make everyone 100% satisfied.

To make everyone happy. 

We accept responsibility

You entrust us with your rest, health and safety. We understand this and accept responsibility. 

Let me tell you about some of our principles. 

Managers – only with real experience

The first person you talk to at Kuluar club is the manager. 

I've been told many times, something like, "The manager's job is to sell. Hire salespeople, let them sell. Write scripts, work with objections, say what the customer wants to hear..." I do not know, maybe somewhere similar schemes work, but not with us, not in Kuluar. 

The task of the manager is to pass his love for the mountains, to choose the appropriate route, as accurately as possible to form expectations, truthfully describing the possible difficulties and prepare the member for them. 

How can a person who has never been on a hike tell about it? How can they share their love for the mountains, if they don’t have it? Therefore, the first principle in finding a manager is the presence of hiking experience. Supposing he knows nothing about sales, but sincerely loves the mountains and wants to share his love. 

Only such a manager will be able to tell about the equipment from personal experience and prepare the member really well.

Team leader is the main person in mountains

The job of a team leader is not just to monitor safety and lead the group along the route, but also to create the right psychological climate in the group. Simply put, it's about making everyone smile, happy, and satisfied. Once a year we get together with the team leaders (oh, it's not that easy, because usually everyone is in the mountains) and share our experiences, ideas, and best practices. We discuss how to make sure that all members are healthy, happy and eager to recommend us to their friends. 

We hold regular team gatherings. Check out the video from the February 2020 gathering. There were three blocks in three days: organizational, group psychology, and pre-medical care. Look at those faces and smiles, because you are going to the mountains with them ⛰

We have spelled out the stages of the hike and there are mandatory points that must be made by the team leaders. Such as acquaintance of members, instructions about safety measures and use of equipment, farewell dinner, etc. But at the same time, we try not to limit team leaders to rigid standards in everything, leaving room for creativity. After all, each team leader has its own "zest" and features, often making the hike unforgettable and unique. 

Quality control and continuous improvement

After the program, our manager calls each member to ask how it was. Please answer as truthfully as possible and don't hide any shortcomings in the work. Sometimes we may not even know that something was wrong until the members themselves say so. 

At the end of the season (sometimes during it) we review and improve the routes. We try to take into account the wishes of clients and recommendations of team leaders. It takes a lot of effort and hard work, but it's the only way we become better. 

It's painful to see how other clubs' programs don't improve for 5 or more years. After all, people also go there and don’t get what they could. 

The history of the Kuluar family evolution

I think you will be interested to know how it all began. I will try to tell the story of the club very briefly. 

The first time I went on a real hike was when I was 9 years old. Since then, 3-4 times a year, my parents took me and my sister to the mountains. We performed at family hiking competitions and were called "Kuluar" – that was the name of the alp club where my dad and mom met. 

When I graduated from university I realized that the mountains are what I was ready to dedicate my life to, and I decided to create my own club. The name came up by itself – Kuluar. By the way, a couloir is a hollow in the mountainside that narrows down. Often a couloir is the optimal or even the only way to the summit, although it has an increased risk of rockfalls and avalanches.

In 2011, I made a website and developed it myself. At the time, there were only a few groups a year. I was the manager, guide, marketer, supervisor – in general, I did all the duties personally. All my time during the first five years I devoted to the development of my brainchild, and it paid off. Kuluar quickly evolved and grew. The first team leaders and managers appeared. From the very beginning, I went against one of the main business tips – not to work with friends. I only took friends on the team that I could rely on, and they fully justified my trust. 

We opened up new regions and peaks. In 2018, for example, the Kuluar team climbed the summit of Everest, and now we are organizing hikes and climbs all over the world.

Here are the raw numbers for 2019, behind which there is so much hard work and strong love.

Tour Operator's License

Tourist Club "Kuluar" is one of the few officially registered. We have a license for tour operator activities, and managers are employed officially. I know that for some members it is important.

Market leaders in hiking and climbing organization

We have become the market leader in the mountains and I can proudly say that we set the trends. Many clubs look up to us and copy us in some way. I'm glad that they do it because they make their product better, and that means that people who go with them will be safer and happier when they come back from hiking. 

But, of course, I would go with us. Like my mom. She regularly goes with Kuluar. Even when she goes not with me, but with other team leaders, I'm totally calm.

I have complete confidence that she will be safe and come back happy.

If you go to the mountains, then go with Kuluar!

Taras Pozdnii, Kuluar family head