BETTER TO FIND OUT HERE
FAQ
WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHINA AUTHORITIES?
WE ARE NOT AGENTS FOR ANY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OR ORGANIZATION IN ANY COUNTRY. FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IS AN INDEPENDANT COMPANY. WHEN WE RUN TRIPS IN CHINA WE INTEGRATE WITH CHINESE COMPANIES FOR PERMITS, LOGISTICS, LIAISON AND RESEARCH – AS PER CHINESE LAW FOR ALL CLIMBING TRIPS. THESE COMPANIES ARE INDEPENDANT, PRIVATE ENTITIES THAT HAVE INTERFACES WITH CHINA’S GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS INCLUDING THE CHINA MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION, SICHUAN MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION AND CHINA XINJIANG MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION, AND THEY HAVE LONG HISTORIES NAVIGATING THE SYSTEM, BUT THEY DON’T REPRESENT THEM
CAN I JOIN A TEAM?
YES, SO LONG AS IT’S COMMONLY AGREED. UNLIKE OTHER 8000m TRIPS, THESE ARE NOT OFF-THE-RACK PERMITS, SO ANY TEAM NEEDS TO BE REGISTERED AS ONE FROM THE START. SOME TEAMS ARE OPEN TO SOLO CLIMBERS JOINING, SOME ARE NOT. ASK US.
WHY DON’T OTHER COMPANIES GO TO WHERE YOU DO?
A FEW COMPANIES SAY THEY GO TO THE NORTH SIDE OF K2, BUT NONE SINCE 2011 ACTUALLY HAVE. WE CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT THE LOGISTICS AND STYLE IN CHINA DON’T FIT WITH THE BUSINESS IDEAS OTHER COMPANIES HAVE WHO DON’T HAVE OUR EXPERIENCE OPERATING THERE.
ARE THERE POLITICAL ISSUES WITH VISITING TIBET?
THE FIRST THING YOU REALIZE WHEN BEING IN TIBETAN AREAS – WHETHER IT’S THE TIBETAN QUARTER OF CHENGDU OR HOMES OF THE NOMADIC FAMILIES OF QINGHAI – IS THAT IT’S COMPLICATED. WE SUGGEST CLIMBERS EDUCATE THEMSELVES BEYOND THE HOLLYWOOD OR BBC VERSIONS OF THE MODERN TIBET STORY, THEN VISIT WITH AN OPEN MIND BEFORE MAKING THEIR OWN JUDGEMENT.
THERE ARE RULES ABOUT THE DISPLAY OF IMAGES RELATING TO THE DALAI LAMA & THE TIBETAN EXILE FLAG AND VISITING AS CLIMBERS IS NOT THE TIME OR PLACE TO DISPLAY AN AGENDA. CHINA’S SECURITY ESCHALON HAS DEALT WITH THIS BEFORE.
ARE SHERPAS EMPLOYED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF K2?
AS A COMPANY WE DON’T EMPLOY SHERPAS OR HAPS, AND THE XINJIANG SIDE HAS NO TRADITION OF LOCAL MOUNTAIN PEOPLE WORKING AS PORTERS, NOR A HISTORY OF PEOPLE BEING EMPLOYED TO FIX ROPES ON THE PEAK. PEOPLE OF ANY NATION ARE FREE TO JOIN AS EQUAL MEMBERS OF A TEAM
WHY IS THIS WEBSITE ALL IN CAPITALS AND FULL OF MISTAKES?
THE MAIN REASON IS WHAT YOU ARE READING HAS BEEN HAMMERED OUT ON KEYBOARDS NOT IN ENGLISH WHERE SWITCHING FONTS IS MORE THAN JUST PRESSING ‘SHIFT’, OR HURRIEDLY TAKEN DOWN AND MESSAGED BACK FROM A COLD TRAIL WITH GLOVES ON. YES, WE CAN AND DO DO SWEEPS FOR MISTAKES, BUT THE PERSON DOING THIS IS A CLIMBER NOT A WEB MASTER. WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF ON A MOUNTAINSIDE AT 3am WITH THEM & AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF RAPPELS AHEAD, WE THINK THEN YOU WILL APPRECIATE THAT.
WHAT’S YOUR HISTORY WITH THE NORTH SIDE OF K2?
WE FIRST WENT TO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM IN 2001, AT A TIME WHEN IT WAS INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE & DIFFICULT TO ARRANGE. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER TRIP IN 2002. IN 2005 & 2006 WE WENT INTO AREAS IN THE FAR EASTERN & FAR WESTERN PARTS OF THE KARAKORUM. IN 2010 WE CLIMBED FROM THE PAKISTAN SIDE, USING THE CESEN ROUTE, GETTING SHUT DOWN IN A SERIES OF ACCIDENTS & BAD WEATHER. THAT SAME YEAR WE RECCED SOME OTHER AREAS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM.. IN 2010 WE CONSULTED FIRST HAND WITH THE TEAM THAT WENT ON TO SUMMIT FROM THE NORTH SIDE IN 2011. BEGINNING IN 2017 WE BEGAN THE PROCESS WITH THE XINJIANG MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION FOR OBTAINING PERMISSION TO ACCESS K2, WHICH INVOLVED SEVERAL TRIPS TO URUMQI. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE AUTHORITIES IS BASED ON BRINGING THE WELL ESTABLISHED SICHUAN SYSTEM & STANDARDS TO XINJIANG CLIMBING. WE HAVE RUN HIGH ALTITUDE TRIPS TO TECHNICAL & REMOTE PEAKS FOR A COMBINED 30 YEARS
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY TIBET?
‘TIBET’ IS NOT CLEARLY DEFINED, SO LIKE TIBETANS, WE CALL TIBET ANYWHERE WITH A PREDOMINANT TIBETAN CULTURE. IF YOU LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND IT LOOKS LIKE TIBET, IT IS TIBET. THIS COVERS A LARGE AREA AND IS NOT RESTRICTED TO A SINGLE PROVINCE, THE MAJORITY OF TIBETANS LIVING IN THE PROVINCES OF SICHUAN & QINGHAI. AS SOME PARTS OF TIBET ARE CLOSED OR UNPREDICTABLE WE DO THE MAJORITY OF OUR TRIPS IN SICHUAN & QINGHAI.
HOW SAFE IS XINJIANG?
XINJIANG HAS A LOT OF BAD PRESS RECENTLY BUT NONE OF IT AFFECTS THE TRAVELLER. THERE IS HEIGHTENED SECURITY UNLIKE WHAT’S FOUND IN THE REST OF CHINA, BUT SAFETY RELATING TO THINGS LIKE CIVIL UNREST OR VIOLENCE IS NOT AN ISSUE. XINJIANG IS SEVERAL MAGNITUDES OF ORDER SAFER THAN PAKISTAN
DO YOU FIX ROPES ON THE NORTH RIDGE?
THE COMMON SCENE OF ‘FIXING PARTIES’ EMPLOYED SOLELY TO FIX MILES OF ROPES FROM GLACIER TO SUMMIT ISN’T AN OPTION ON THE NORTH SIDE, SO WE ‘SHORT FIX’ SECTIONS MEANING ONLY PLACES WHERE THE SMALL TEAMS REQUIRE IT FOR SAFETY & SPEED. THIS CHANGES EVERY YEAR, AND AS THE ROUTE ITSELF ISN’T LITERALLY SET IN STONE, WE PREPARE FOR WHATEVER ARISES
WHAT COMMS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF K2?
EVEN YEARS AGO SATELLITE COMMS WERE POSSIBLE FROM ON THE GLACIER SO WE EXPECT IT TO BE BETTER NOW AS ALL OF CHINA HAS RAPIDLY ADVANCED WITH THIS. CURRENTLY THE EXTEND OF CELL RECEPTION IS UNKNOWN, BUT THE PRESENCE OF BORDER GUARD INSTALLATIONS MEANS IT’S CREEPING IN AND VERY SOON COULD BE WITHIN IN NEAR-LINE OF SIGHT WITH THE FOOT OF THE GLACIER.
ON THE MOUNTAIN TO BASECAMP WE USE MEDIUM RANGE RADIOS
DO YOU INCLUDE TIPPING IN YOUR TRIP COSTS?
NO. TIPPING AS SEEN IN NEPAL & PAKISTAN ISN’T AN ESTABLISHED PART OF CULTURE IN CHINA. ALL CREW ARE PAID PROPER LIVING WAGES SET EITHER BY THE GOVERNMENT OR INDUSTRY THEY WORK IN. EVERYONE WORKING WITH FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IS PAID AS AN EXPERT IN THEIR FIELD WHETHER IT’S A CAMEL DRIVER OR A TRIP LEADER. GRATUITIES VOLUNTARILY GIFTED FOR EXCEPTIONAL WORK ARE GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED AND ARE A PERSONAL MATTER, BUT NO SYSTEM OF ORGANIZED OR PRE-INCLUDED TIPS EXISTS.
