2024 NORTH KARAKORAM EXPEDITION: OUR PARTNERS

NO ONE HAS CLIMBED IN THE NORTH KARAKORAM, FROM THE CHINA SIDE, SINCE THE HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC 2014 EXPEDITION LEAD BY BRUCE NORMAND. OVER THIS DECADE MANY THINGS HAVE EVOLVED AT MANY LEVELS, CHANGING THE NATURE OF HOW EXPEDITIONS IN THERE CAN OPERATE.

SIGNIFICANTLY, LOGISTICS HAVE EVOLVED A LOT, CHANGING THE WAY THINGS ARRIVE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. MUCH OF THIS IS TO DO WITH CHINAS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE REGION, BUT A LOT ALSO LAYS WITH US, THE EQUIPMENT WE USE, AND HOW WE TEST & ADJUST IT. LOTS OF WINTERS IN EASTERN TIBET AND JAPAN HAVE GIVEN US HUNDREDS OF DAYS TO DEVELOP AND REFINE, TO REAPPRAISE BITS OF GEAR, TO REFINE, AND IN SOME CASE TO INNOVATE FROM THE GROUND UP.

WE HAVE NOT BEEN ALONE IN PUSHING THE WAY CLIMBING CAN WORK, WITH A ‘NEW WAVE’ OF EQUIPMENT PRODUCERS ENTERING THE MIX THAT PUSH FORWARD WHERE THE BIG OLD COMPANIES CAN’T, WON’T OR DON’T KNOW HOW TO. IN SOME CASES THESE PRODUCERS ACTUALLY HAVE VERY DEEP ROOTS AND LONG PEDIGREES, BUT STAY AT THE EVOLVING EDGE AND AVOID SEDENTARINESS THE SAME WAY SOME ROCK STARS DO. IN OTHER CASES THESE COMPANIES SPRING FROM PARALLEL INDUSTRIES, BURSTING IN FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION. THESE COMPANIES SEE THE FUTURISM IN THE THINGS THAT WE DO, AND RATHER THAN REPLICATE THE PAST, PUSH EVER FASTER INTO WHERE NEW CONCEPTS AND MATERIALS CAN GO.

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QUITE LITERALLY THESE COMPANIES MAKE OUR TRIPS POSSIBLE, AS WITHOUT THEM OUR GEAR WOULD BE TOO HEAVY, NOT WARM ENOUGH, NOT STRONG ENOUGH, NOT INTEGRATED ENOUGH AND SOMETIMES WOULDN’T EVEN EXIST. WE BURNED THROUGH A LOT OF PRODUCERS BEFORE THESE, WHO COULDN’T KEEP UP OR DIDN’T GET THE DEMANDS, OR SIMPLY LACKED THE ENTHUSIASM TO INNOVATE THAT COULD WEATHER – BARELY SOMETIMES – THE HUNDREDS OF EMAILS AND TEXTS IT TAKES TO GET THINGS RIGHT.

WE NOW HAVE THE LIGHTEST AND MOST FUNCTIONAL HIGH ALTITUDE EQUIPMENT EVER ASSEMBLED, TO GO AND CLIMB WHEN AND WHERE THE RULES FROM ELSEWHERE DON’T APPLY. ALL THAT STUFF YOU SEE USED ON EVEREST etc IS FINE, BUT IT DOESN’T DO WHAT WE NEED IN THE NORTHERN KARAKORAM IN LATE AUTUMN. THE STUFF WE HAVE SPEAKS HUGELY OF THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT, AS THE DYNAMIC WAYS FORWARD IN AN INDUSTRY OTHERWISE GRINDING AWAY MOSTLY ON FUMES.

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PARTNERING WITH THESE COMPANIES MEANS WE ADVOCATE THEM BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN THE PROCESS AT WORK. THESE COMPANIES SHARE THE SAME CONCERNS WE DO WITH VERY REAL THINGS IN CLIMBING, AND SORTING DESIGNS FOR US ADDS TO THE EVOLUTION OF GEAR ALL ROUND THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN BENEFIT FROM. UNLIKE BEING ‘AMBASSADORS’ OR SPONSORED, WHAT WE DO WITH THESE COMPANIES CONTRIBUTES TO THE WHOLE AND WE SUPPORT INNOVATION NOT JUST FOR OURSELVES.

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MALACHOWSKI HAVE DOWN THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES, AND JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, THEY HAVE THE WAY TO USE IT TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL. DOWN SUITS AND SLEEPING BAGS ARE RELATIVELY SLOW TO EVOLVE ELSEWHERE, BUT AT MALACHOWSKI THEY ARE IN CONSTANT DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL SORTS OF THINGS AND HAVE BEEN FOR DECADES. IT IS THIS STUFF THAT IS THE KEY TO HIGH AND COLD CLIMBING, AND NOTHING REALLY COMES CLOSE ASIDE FROM A FEW EXCLUSIVE EXAMPLES.

AS DESCRIBED IN ANOTHER POST, MALACHOWSKI INNOVATE AT A REMARKABLE LEVEL, OUTFITTING GENERATIONS OF POLISH AND OTHER CLIMBERS WITH DOWN GEAR THAT WORKS FOR VANGUARD ASCENTS. TIME AND AGAIN THEIR SUITS AND SLEEPING BAGS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR THINGS LIKE WINTER 8000m ASCENTS AND MULTIPLE 8000m LINK UPS, STUFF THAT OFF-THE-SHELF GEAR ISN’T CONCERNED WITH.

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SAMAYA HIT THE HOLY GRAIL OF TENTS STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT, WITH WHATEVER COMES IN SECOND SO FAR BACK IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER. THESE TENTS ARE SO LIGHT, SO STRONG, SO ALPINE-DETAILED AND SO WELL CRAFTED THAT IT CHANGED STRATEGIES FOR CLIMBING THAT ARE STILL BEING WORKED OUT. BECAUSE OF SAMAYA TENTS WE NOW DISPENSE WITH IDEAS ABOUT WHAT DEFINES APPROACHES, BASECAMPS AND ROUTES, DOING AWAY WITH A FUNDAMENTAL OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING THAT CAN NOW BE OBSOLETE. IT SAYS A LOT THAT SEVERAL YEARS ON, NO REAL ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO EQUAL WHAT SAMAYA DOES, INDICATING THEY HAVE DEFINED A NICHE AND CATERED TO IT IN A CAPACITY THAT IS DEFINITIVE.

SAMAYA TENTS HAVEN’T ADDRESSED THE ISSUES OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING BY ONLY AN INCREMENT, BUT COME IN LIGHTER AND STRONGER WELL INTO THE DOUBLE-DIGIT PERCENTILE. THE INTERACTION WE HAVE HAD WITH THE COMPANY ITSELF HAS SHOWN US THE APPETITE FOR INNOVATION THEY HAVE, DISCUSSING DIRECTLY WITH THE CORE OF THE COMPANY AND SEEING THINGS BECOME REALIZED.

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ICE TOOLS ARE JUST THAT – TOOLS – AND IN 99% OF CASES THEY ARE TURNED OUT AT THE LEVEL OF ANY OTHER HARDWARE, ie TO GET A JOB DONE AS WELL AS IT NEEDS TO BE TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING. ELITECLIMB ISN’T LIKE THIS, BEING MORE LIKE A JAPANESE KNIFE MAKER, THAT TURNS OUT EXPERTLY CRAFTED IMPLEMENTS FOR SPECIAL USE, TO BE USED TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE. ELITECLIMB TOOLS ARE NOT MADE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF THE MACHINES IN A FACTORY, BUT TO THE SPECIFICS OF USE IN COLD AND HIGH MOUNTAINS. WE APPRECIATE ELITECLIMB FOR THE WAY THEY TAKE OUR SEEMINGLY OPPOSING REQUESTS AND TURN OUT SOLUTIONS IMPOSSIBLE BY ANY OTHER AVENUE. WE LIKE THE FACT THAT SOLUTIONS DRIVE THE PROCESS USING THE SKILLS OF THE CRAFTSMAN AND ENGINEER, NOT THE LIMITATIONS OF MASS PRODUCTION, AND THAT THE RESULT RISES ABOVE BEING MERE TOOLS AND BEING MORE LIKE SWORDS.

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WE HAVE BURNED THROUGH A LOT OF PACKS, WITH BOXES FULL OF STUFF THAT’S TOO HEAVY, BROKEN, NOT WELL DESIGNED, GIMMICKY AND SELF-SABOTAGED WITH POOR MATERIALS. WE HONESTLY THOUGHT THIS PART OF THE EQUATION MIGHT NEVER BE SOLVED TO STANDARD, ACCEPTING IT WOULD ALWAYS BE A PROCESS OF CUTTING STUFF OFF AND RESEWING. WHEN PARBAT SUDDENLY POPPED UP WE WERE IMPRESSED WITH THE LEVEL OF DESIGN, THAT TOOK THE MATERIALS THEY USE OUT TO FULL REALIZATION. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME WE SAW THE CARRYING EQUATION AT ITS BEST, WHERE THE MASS OF THE CARRIER ITSELF WAS VERY SMALL IN THE PROCESS. WE LIKE THAT NO CONCESSION IS MADE TO GIMMICKERY OR COOL FACTOR, RELYING ON THE SAME PRINCIPLES AS MASERATI – THAT THE ASTHETICS ARE SELF EVIDENT WHEN THE FUNCTIONS ARE PROPERLY MET.

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SOMETIMES WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE WANT, ONLY THAT WE HAVE A CONCEPT, A SET OF DEMANDS, SOME INTERESTING MATERIALS AND AN ITCH FOR EXPERIMENTATION THAT NEEDS SCRATCHING. THIS IS OFTEN THE RESULT OF FINDING A NEED THAT IS SO SPECIFIC TO OUR TRIPS NO INDUSTRY ADDRESSES IT – LOADING BACTRIAN CAMELS PERHAPS – AND NEEDS A SPECTRUM OF DISCIPLINES TO PULL THE PIECES TOGETHER. RATHER THAN A PRODUCER, CHHOGORI IS A PROTOTYPER, TURNING OUT EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS THAT ARE EITHER ULTRA-SPECIALIZED, ONE-OFF, NEEDING RAPID EVOLUTION, OR THAT WILL GO ON TO OTHER COMPANIES FOR PRODUCTION. THE LANGUAGE IS ALL HIGH TECH MATERIALS, BLENDED IN UNIQUE WAYS, AND PUT TOGETHER WITH A LEVEL OF CONSTRUCTION THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR CANNOT FLOAT. RATHER THAN DREAM UP FANTASY GEAR THIS IS A WAY TO PUT IDEAS THROUGH THE COLD LIGHT OF DEVELOPMENT, WITHOUT THE BAGGAGE OF INDUSTRY OR THE DAMPENER OF COMMERCIALISM.

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