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WE LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR. THIS IS WHEN IDEAS AND DETAILS FOR EXPEDITIONS POUR IN AND WE CONJOUR THEM INTO FORM SO THEY WORK FOR THE OBJECTIVES, THE STYLES AND THE PRICE POINTS. IT IS OFTEN INSINUATED THAT THE ‘OFF SEASON’ SPENT STANDING AT A COMPUTER WHILST EVERYONE ELSE IS OFF IN PAKISTAN AND NEPAL MUST BE FRUSTRATING, BUT NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THAT – THIS IS WHERE THE REAL WORK OF TURNING IDEAS INTO ACTUAL, HAPPENING EXPEDITIONS OCCURS AND IT’S FUN AS HELL.

IT’S ALSO A GOOD TIME TO REMIND PEOPLE WHAT OUR TRIPS ACTUALLY ARE, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THEY NOT OUR TRIPS THEY ARE YOUR TRIPS. CONSTANT INQUIRIES ASKING IF PEOPLE CAN JOIN A TRIP IS GREAT, WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE WITH THE FORTITUDE TO ASK, BUT IT IS RARE THAT WE HAVE ‘OPEN STYLE’ TRIPS THAT ARRIVING CLIMBERS CAN JOIN. UNLIKE OTHER COMPANIES WE DO NOT HAVE SET ITINERARIES AND SET TEAM SIZES TO FIT SET LOGISTICS AND SET PERMITS WHERE NAMES JUST GET ADDED, WHAT WE HAVE IS A VAST ARRAY OF NUTS AND BOLTS THAT MAKE UNIQUE EXPEDITIONS HAPPEN.

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THE WAY TO APPROACH FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IS WITH CLEAR IDEAS ABOUT WHAT, WHERE AND WHEN YOU WANT TO CLIMB AS THESE ARE THE BASE ELEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO SET WHEELS INTO MOTION. YOUR IDEAS CAN BE AS EMBRYONIC AS ‘6500m, FIRST ASCENT, SHORT APPROACH, LATE SUMMER, FOR 20 DAYS’ AND WE WILL PULL OUT DOZENS OF OPTIONS, OR CAN BE PAGES OF MATERIAL AND RESEARCH, BLURRY CLIPPINGS FROM MAGAZINES, SCREENSHOTS, COORDINATES, VAGUE DESCRIPTIONS AND WEIRD DETAILS FROM OVER THE DECADES – IT’S ALL GOOD STUFF TO US. WE HAVE SUCH A VAST FIELD OF OPTIONS – THOUSANDS OF NEW PEAKS ACROSS AN AREA THE SIZE OF EUROPE – THAT THE LIMITATION IS HOW BIG YOU WANT TO GO, NOT A QUESTION OF CONTAINMENT.

IF YOU WANT A TEAM PULLED TOGETHER WE CAN ARRANGE IT, OR SIMPLY PARTNER WITH OUR GUYS IF THE OBJECTIVE WORKS BEST THAT WAY. THE MASSIVE AND SOPHISTICATED LOGISTICS SYSTEMS OF CHINA MEAN THE BASIC PROBLEMS THAT SWAMP EXPEDITIONS ELSEWHERE WITH PEDANTIC ISSUES ARE RARELY RELEVANT FOR US. THIS MEANS RUNNING SERIOUS AND LONG EXPEDITIONS ARE FULLY POSSIBLE FOR VERY SMALL TEAMS – SOMETHING WE PREFER FOR THE SMALLER FOOTPRINT AND SIMPLICITY. TEAMS OF TWO OR THREE CAN EASILY TAKE ON VERY HIGH AND VERY REMOTE OBJECTIVES, USING VERY LIGHT GEAR AND MINIMAL ADMINISTRATIVE INTERFERENCE.

ON THE RARE OCCASIONS WHEN WE HAVE TRIPS TO BE JOINED, THIS STILL DOESN’T MEAN JUST WALKING INTO AN EXISTING FORMAT. IN THIS CASE THE TEAM STILL NEEDS TO ENGAGE TO MAKE DECISIONS, BUY STUFF AND DEFINE THE STYLE. EVERY CHOICE IS A TEAM CHOICE, MEDIATED BY US, AND EVERY RESULT IS THE OUTCOME OF THE TEAMSTERS. OF COURSE, OUR TRIPS ARE NEVER GUIDED BECAUSE YOU CANNOT GUIDE UNKNOWN OBJECTIVES AND WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN RETURNING TO ESTABLISHED ONES WHEN SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES EXIST TO DO SOMETHING NEW.

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FOR US A GREAT DAY AT WORK IS GREETING INTERESTING AND INSPIRED IDEAS AS THEY COME IN, THEN WORKING WITH CLIMBERS TO GET INTO THE MOUNTAINS TO DO IT. YES, THERE WILL BE LOTS OF EMAILS AND QUESTIONS AND REFERENCING BACK AND FORTH WITH AUTHORITIES AND MANUFACTURERS – THESE ARE REAL EXPEDITIONS – AND THE TRIP IN THE END IS YOUR TRIP NOT SOMETHING FROM A BROCHURE.

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