THE BUSINESS OF MAKING EXPEDITIONS HAPPEN

YOUR EXPEDITION IS A REAL EXPEDITION. WE DON’T RUN TRIPS OFF THE SHELF OR ADD YOUR NAME TO A LIST OR EVEN GUIDE IN A TRADITIONAL SENSE, BECAUSE EVERY TRIP IS A ONE-OFF UNIQUE TO THE IDEAS OF THE CLIMBERS.

FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS PROVIDES THE NUTS & BOLTS FOR EXPEDITIONS IN THE HIGH ALTITUDE AREAS OF CHINA. AFTER 25 YEARS CLIMBING ACROSS THE COUNTRY WE BECOME GOOD AT THIS, DOING WHAT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO THE NEW COMER, AND WE HAVE SOME ACCESS THAT IS OTHERWISE IMPOSSIBLE.

WE HAVE A VAST ARCHIVE OF TRIP POSSIBILITIES RANGING FROM ROUTES ON 8000m PEAKS IN THE KARAKORAM, TO HUNDREDS OF OPTIONS FOR FIRST AND OBSCURE ASCENTS FROM 4000M AND ABOVE. EVEN OUR MOST ESTABLISHED TRIPS, TO PLACES LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 OR WELL KNOWN PEAKS IN SICHUAN, ARE ORGANIZED WITH UNIQUE LOGISTICS AND STRATEGIES TO FIT THE DEMANDS OF THE TEAM.

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WE SPECIALIZE IN EXPLORATORY EXPEDITIONS, TO REMOTE AND OBSCURE PLACES FOR SIGNIFICANT OBJECTIVES. EVEN OUR MOST FAMILIAR TRIPS ARE USUALLY WITH THE IDEA OF NEW ROUTES OR DONE IN NEW CONDITIONS, AND AT THE VERY LEAST OUR TRIPS WILL BE LIGHTER AND MORE AGILE THAN HOW THINGS WILL HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE BASED OFF OUR PROPRIETRY LOGISTICS.

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PLANNING

FIVE MINUTES ON GOOGLE EARTH WILL SHOW YOU THE BREADTH OF THE TERRAIN WE DEALING WITH HERE, SO IF DECIDING AN OBJECTIVE AND HOW TO DO IT APPEARS BEWILDERING DON’T WORRY, WE HAVE IT COVERED.

OF THE DOZENS OF RANGES AND HUNDREDS OF PEAKS FROM TIBET TO TURKESTAN, WE HAVE BEEN TO NEARLY ALL OPEN AREAS AND HAVE A PROCESS FOR GETTING TEAMS IN. IN SOME AREAS WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WITH PERMISSION TO GO THERE.

WE PLAN EVERY EXPEDITION BESPOKE, TO THE DETAILS OF THE CLIMBERS, BASED ON DETAILED AND SPECIFIC FEEDBACK SO WHAT YOU WANT HAPPENS. THIS CAN BE AS SMALL OR LARGE A SCALE AS REQUESTED, WITH MOST THINGS SCALABLE, AND WE GET EXCITED BY DOING THINGS IN NEW AND INNOVATIVE WAYS.

CLIMBING IN CHINA IS REFRESHINGLY FORMAT-FREE, WITH ALMOST NO INDUSTRY THAT SETS THE RULES OR COERCES YOU AROUND HOW THINGS ARE DONE. PLANS AND PERMITS ARE SUBMITTED AS UNIQUE THINGS AND EVALUATED CASE BY CASE, AND THE CHINA AUTHORITIES ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO LOOK AT NEW WAYS TO DO THINGS. THIS CAN MEAN OUT-OF-SEASON ASCENTS, UNUSUAL LOGISTICS, COMBINED EXPEDITIONS TO MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES AND ACCESS TO PREVIOUSLY UNEXPLORED PLACES.

WANT TO DO A FIRST ASCENT OF A 6000m PEAK THEN EXIT VIA THE FIRST DESCENT OF A RIVER? THE PROCESS TO ORGANIZE IT WILL BE MET WITH ENTHUSIASM. LIKEWISE WINTER ASCENTS DON’T REQUIRE SPECIAL PERMITS AND FIRST ASCENTS – THOUGH NEEDING A SPECIAL PERMIT – WE CAN ARRANGE STRAIGHTFORWARDLY, AND ONCE THE AUTHORIZATION IS GAINED IT PULLS ALL OTHER DETAILS INTO PLACE.

WE PLAN FROM A BASE OF DECADES ON THE GROUND, A WIDE NETWORK OF ASSOCIATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS MULTIPLE CULTURES AND LANGUAGES. THE VASTNESS AND REMOTENESS OF CHINA MEANS THE UNNAMED PEAK YOU HAVE FOUND MAY HAVE ITS PECULIARITES, THAT ARE USUALLY UNKNOWN TO THE OUTSIDER AND SO REQUIRE LOCAL ADVICE.

TO CLIMBERS FROM A BACKGROUND IN COMMERCIAL TRIPS SUCH AS EVEREST AND DENALI, THE SCOPE OF AN EXPEDITION TO SOMEWHERE LIKE XINJIANG IS SEVERAL ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE REMOVED AND A LARGE RISK FOR YOUR MONEY IF YOU GET IT WRONG. REGULARLY WE ARE ASKED TO FIX PLANS THAT HAVE GONE AWRY DUE TO LACK OF FAMILIARITY OR KNOWLEDGE OF THE FACTORS INVOLVED, RESOLVING WHAT THEN CAN BECOME A SIGNIFICANT ASCENT.

WE KNOW THAT THINGS IN CHINA DON’T WORK LIKE THEY DO ELSEWHERE, FROM THE MACRO TO THE MICRO LEVEL. BEING A HIGHLY CENTRALIZED SYSTEM, EVERYTHING GETS LINED UP FROM THE VISA AND PAYMENTS TO THE CLIMBING, SO THE MORE STREAMLINED THE PLANNING THE MORE WE CAN GET DONE.

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LEADING

LEADING TRIPS MEAN WE OVERSEE THEM, WHICH MEANS IT IS OUR NAME ON THE PERMIT, THOUGH THIS DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN WE LEAD THE ACTUAL CLIMBING. WE ARE THE ONES WHO ANSWER TO THE AUTHORITIES AND ARE THE LIAISING PARTY, BUT UNLESS ENGAGED TO DO SO THE CLIMBING IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEAM.

IN THIS WAY, LEADING TRIPS MEANS WE PUT THEM TOGETHER INTO AN EXECUTABLE FORM, THEN MAKE SURE THEY HAPPEN THAT WAY OR ARE MANAGED PROPERLY IF THEY DON’T. WE DO THIS WITH FULL INTERACTION WITH THE CLIMBERS, AND ALL DETAILS ARE THE CLIMBERS DECISION, MAKING IT YOUR EXPEDITION WHETHER YOU TELL EVERYONE WE ORGANIZED IT OR NOT.

SOME TRIPS WE LEAD FROM THE FRONT, OTHERS WE LEAD IN NAME ONLY BECAUSE THE TEAM KNOWS WHAT IT WANTS. SOMETIMES THE TEAM IS BETTER AT CLIMBING THAN WE ARE AND ONLY NEED US TO GET THEM THERE, OTHER TIMES WE ARE THERE TO SPECIFICALLY LEAD THE CLIMBING.

NONE OF THIS IS GUIDING, BECAUSE GUIDING IS A JOB THAT REPLACES THE ABILITY OF THE CLIMBER, WHERE WE ARE THERE TO LEAD WHAT THE ABILITY OF THE CLIMBERS ALLOWS. THIS MEANS THE OUTCOMES OF A TRIP ARE WHAT YOU WERE CAPABLE OF, NO ONE WAS DRAGGED UP ANYTHING THEY COULDN’T CLIMB THEMSELVES, AND SO YOU CAN CALL THE EXPEDITION YOURS.

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PERMITS

ALL EXPEDITIONS IN CHINA REQUIRE PERMITS, WHICH MEANS INTERFACING WITH THE AUTHORITIES, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DAUNTING AND COMPLEX. THOUGH NOT INTIMIDATING, THE MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATIONS CAN REQUIRE A COMPLEX PROCESS, AND THE MORE OBSCURE AN OBJECTIVE THE MORE INVOLVED THIS IS.

A VERY LONG LIST OF PREVIOUS PERMITS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND MUCH TIME SPENT IN CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHORITIES, MEANS WE HAVE UNPARALLELED ADVANTAGES WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING THIS DONE. A PROCESS THAT MAY TAKE MONTHS OTHERWISE WE CAN ARRANGE WITHIN DAYS BASED OFF THE BACK OF OUR ARCHIVES, AND THE SHARED TRUST THAT COMES FROM HAVING DONE ALL THIS BEFORE. IF AN OBJECTIVE IS POSSIBLE, WE CAN GET THE PERMITS FOR IT, SOMETHING THAT INCORPORATES MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE PEAK ITSELF

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LOGISTICS

CHINA IS A LOGISTICAL UTOPIA, WITH AN ENORMOUS SYSTEM GEARED TOWARDS GETTING STUFF FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. THIS IS A PLACE THAT HAS REDUCED ACCESS IN SOME AREAS FROM WEEKS TO DAYS, THAT NAVIGATES HIGH ALTITUDE AND REMOTENESS AS ORDINARY AND THINKS NOTHING OF MOVING STUFF THOUSANDS OF MILES, WHICH WE CAN TAP INTO TO DO WHAT ELSEWHERE IS UNPREDICTABLE.

WE REGULARLY SHIP ENTIRE EXPEDITION LOADS ACROSS THE BREADTH OF FIVE TIMEZONES, FLY PEOPLE TO CITIES YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF, AND ARRANGE ACCESS TO AREAS THE WORLD WILL TELL YOU IS IMPOSSIBLE. OUR TRIPS OFTEN INVOLVE A COMBINATION OF FLIGHTS, VEHICLES, PACK ANIMALS AND CREW ORCHESTRATED SEAMLESSLY FROM CITIES OF MILLIONS OUT TO SOME COORDINATES ON A MAP, ACROSS A LANDSCAPE THAT IS MEASURED AS MUCH VERTICALLY AS IT IS IN DISTANCE.

NEVERTHELESS, OUR PERSONAL LOGISTICS ARE VERY SMALL-FOOTPRINT, INVOLVING TEAMS THAT ARE SELF-SUSTAINED IN THE MOUNTAINS, BUT ALL THIS IS RESTS UPON A LARGE BASE OF TRANSPORT, SUPPLY AND SOURCING. THOUGH IF ANYWHERE COULD PUT A TENT VILLAGE ON A GLACIER CHINA COULD, WE DON’T DO THIS, INSTEAD USING ITS VAST NETWORK SO WE CAN KEEP THE MOUNTAINS FREE.

UNLIKE NEPAL AND PAKISTAN WHERE THE LEVEL OF LOGISTICAL DEVELOPMENT MEANS LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE ARE NEEDED, IN CHINA THE LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY MEANS THE FEWEST MOVING PARTS. INFRASTRUCTURE GETS THINGS FURTHER OUT, FASTER AND MORE RELIABLY, SO WE CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE AND LEAVE THE SYSTEM BEHIND.

IN CHINA JOBS ARE DONE BY PEOPLE CONSIDERED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, WHETHER IT’S PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS, CAMEL HERDERS, TRANSLATORS OR LIAISON OFFICERS. THESE ROLES REQUIRE LICENCES AND APPROVAL THAT MEAN THEY ARE DONE TO STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY WE BELIEVE, MEAN SET WAGES. MOST CREW ARE MEMBERS OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT OVERSEE THEIR ROLES, AND THAT MATCH UP WITH THE PERMITS AND PLANNING

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RESOURCES

IF IT EXISTS, CHINA HAS IT SOMEWHERE, AND THE LOGISTICAL SOPHISTICATION DESBRIBED ABOVE MEANS WE CAN GET IT FAST AND RELIABLY.

ELECTRIC SUVS TO THE TRAILHEAD, NO PROBLEM. CRAMPONS, SWISS MUESLI, WHISKY, FRESH COFFEE BEANS, ROPES OR SATELITE PHONES ARE ALSO NO PROBLEM, MEANING WE CAN SUPPLY OUR EXPEDITIONS WITH EFFECTIVELY ANYTHING THEY WANT.

BEING BASED FROM MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CITIES LIKE CHENGDU AND URUMQI WE HAVE THE FULL SPECTRUM OF INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES AT HAND WHICH MEANS WE DON’T NEED TO IMPORT IT OR PROVIDE LOCAL COPIES. AUTHENTIC CLIMBING GEAR, STARBUCKS INSTANT, STOVES AND GAS CANISTERS FROM MAJOR BRANDS, ELECTRONICS AND CLOTHING FROM COMPANIES YOU YOU KNOW ALL HAVE RETAILERS, ALONG WITH A HUGE MARKET OF LOCAL STUFF THAT YOU NEVER NEW EXISTED.

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WHAT WE DON’T DO

WE AVOID ANY OVERLAP WITH THE LARGE, INDUSTRIALLY MANAGED TRIPS THAT DOMINATE PLACES LIKE EVEREST AND SHISHAPANGMA.

THIS MEANS WE DON’T RUN LOGISTICS THERE OR GET THE PERMITS FOR IT, THOUGH WE DO RUN PREACCLIMATIZATION TRIPS SO CLIMBERS CAN ARRIVE IN THE BEST CLIMBING SHAPE POSSIBLE DIRECT FROM EASTERN TIBET.

WE DON’T SUPPLY SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN FOR ANY OF OUR TRIPS, NOR DO WE PROVIDE THE SORT OF LOGISTICS THAT GOES WITH IT SUCH AS HIGH ALTITUDE PORTERS, FIXED CAMPS AND ROUTES FIXED TO THE SUMMIT.

THE NATURE OF WHERE WE GO MEANS LARGE COMMERCIAL GROUPS ARE OFTEN UNFEASIBLE OR AT ODDS WITH THE WILDERNESS WE ARE IN. SOME STYLES OF TRIPS PLACE MORE DEMAND ON AN ENVIRONMENT THAN WE ARE WILLING TO ABIDE, SO WE LIMIT THE TEAM SIZES AND THE WAY THINGS ARE RUN. WE TAKE AS A STARK REMINDER FROM ELSEWHERE WHAT DAMAGE CAN BE DONE FROM TOO MANY PEOPLE AND THE LOGISTICS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THEM, OR THE DEMANDS OF TEAMS THAT REQUIRE A LEVEL OF COMFORT THAT IS DISPROPORTIONATE TO WHAT SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS CAN PROVIDE. THIS MEANS WE DON’T RUN TRIPS THAT LEAVE AN EFFECT ON THE PLACES WE PASS THROUGH WHETHER UNINHABITED OR NOT, STRIVING TO MAKE THE IDEA OF ZERO IMPACT COVER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

WE DON’T RUN TRIPS WITH ANY AGENDA OUTSIDE OF CLIMBING, WHICH INCLUDES POLITICS, RELIGION, MEDIA OR INDUSTRIAL. WE KNOW FULL WELL THE CONTROVERSIAL NATURE OF SOME OF THE PLACES WE GO, AND WE KNOW HOW COMPLEX THINGS CAN BE, AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT AS GUESTS OUR PRESENCE CAN REMAIN ONCE WE HAVE LEFT. THIS MEANS WE COME AND GO AS CLIMBERS, TO OBSERVE, CLIMB AND EXPERIENCE THINGS AS THEY ARE TO OUR OUTSIDERS POSITION. WE DON’T RUN FACT FINDING TRIPS OR COLLECT DATA OR HAND OUT AID OR PRESENT IDEOLOGIES, WITH THE ONLY AGENDA WE HAVE BEING THE MEETING OF PEOPLE AS EQUALS.

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ALL THIS IS A BUSINESS AND ONE THAT WE TAKE SERIOUSLY AND ARE PROUD OF. IT IS THE ALTERNATIVE TO THE INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL ‘EXPEDITIONS’ ELSEWHERE. WE ENDEAVOR TO STICK TO THE ETHICS OF ALPINISM AND EXPLORATION LAID DOWN BY THE BEST WHO HAVE COME BEFORE, WHICH MEANS ESCHEWING THE CLIMB-BY-NUMBERS MENTALITY THAT HAS COME TO DOMINATE HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING. WE THINK THE BEST DAYS OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING ARE STILL AHEAD OF US, MAYBE NOT FOR THE MASSES BUT FOR THOSE WHO STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX.

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