EXPEDITIONS TO PLACES THAT DON’T EXIST*

WE BARTERED OUR SOULS AT THE CROSS ROADS OF TURKESTAN AND TIBET A LONG TIME AGO, IN EXCHANGE FOR GAINING ACCESS TO THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF UNCLIMBED HIGH ALTITUDE PEAKS ON EARTH. WE WILLINGLY HANDED OVER ANY PLACE IN THE COMMERCIAL CLIMBING INDUSTRY, TO HAVE PERMISSION TO PLACES FAMOUS FOR BEING KNOWN AS FORBIDDEN.

WE SEE THIS AS THE TRUE ‘HIDDEN’ LINEAGE OF ALPINISM – WHERE THE ETHICS OF ALPINE STYLE ARE ENFORCED NOT BY ANY SCENE OR MEDIA, BUT BY THE RAW REALITY OF LOGISTICS OF CLIMBING IN PLACES NOT OPEN TO OTHERS, IN THE STYLES OF TILMAN, KURTYKA AND THE PIRATE SCENE IN CHINA IN THE EARLY 2000s.

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FOR 2025 FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS WILL BE STARTING TRIPS INTO SOME OF THE MOST SENSITIVE AND CONTESTED HIGH ALTITUDE MOUNTAINS ANYWHERE, THAT ARE HOME TO DOZENS OF +6500m PEAKS, ALMOST ALL UNCLIMBED AND NONE OF WHICH HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED FOR AT LEAST 25 YEARS.

FEW IF ANY OF THESE PEAKS HAVE DOCUMENTATION, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHS, KNOWN ONLY BY OLD MAPS AND SATELLITE LOCATION. OUR FIRST EXPEDITION THERE IN LATE 2024 IS CONFIRMING MANY OF THE CHANGES INCLUDING TO INFRASTRUCTURE, GLACIERS AND LOGISTICS, AND OF COURSE SPOTTING FUTURE OBJECTIVES.

THESE ARE THE EXPEDITIONS FOR SERIOUS ADVENTURERS, WHO WANT MUCH MORE THAN SIMPLY AN ASCENT. THOUGH ALL MANNER OF CLIMBING IS AVAILABLE FROM BIG WALLS TO MIXED ALPINE, THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT ALL THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF REAL EXPLORATION AND INTRIGUE AS SHIPTON WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT.

THESE PLACES ARE FAMOUS IN THE LEXICONS OF EXPEDITIONS, WITH ANY RESEARCH TURNING UP THE NAMES OF YOUNGHUSBAND, STEIN, TIBETAN, CHINESE AND TURKESTANI WARLORDS AND MYSTICS, AS WELL AS INTEREST FROM GEOLOGISTS, ARCHEOLOGISTS AND SPIES. TO GO HERE IS TO ADD TO THE RECORDS OF EXPLORERS, AMONG THE HANDFUL THAT HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN THESE MOUNTAINS RATHER THAN JUST HEARD OF THEM.

OUR EXPEDITIONS ARE FULLY LOGISTICALLY AND ADMINISTRATIVELY SUPPORTED BY THE MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATIONS FROM MULTIPLE PROVINCES OF CHINA, AND IS THE CULMINATION OF A DECADE OF WORK AND COUNTLESS BIG CHANGES. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY MUCH OF THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN OPEN TO OUTSIDERS, AND REPRESENTS A NEW BRANCH IN EXPEDITION CLIMBING EVER FURTHER FROM THE CIRCUS COMMERCIAL MOUNTAINEERING HAS BECOME.

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WITH FORBIDDEN PLACES COMES SOME INHERENT NEED FOR REDACTION, AS NOT EVERYBODY WANTS EVERYBODY ELSE TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. IN A WORLD OF PERPETUAL OUTRAGE AND UNINFORMED OPINIONS WE DON’T INVITE THE INPUT OF PEOPLE NOT INVOLVED AND NOT INFORMED, KEEPING THE DETAILS OF SUCH TRIPS AMONG ONLY THOSE WHO ARE ON THEM.

NOTE WE HAVE AUTHENTIC, LEGITIMATE AND AUTHORIZED PERMISSION FOR THESE PLACES, THESE ARE NOT BACKDOOR TRIPS TAUNTING REGULATIONS OR BREAKING LAWS, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE A VERY BAD IDEA IN PARTS OF WESTERN CHINA WHERE THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD IMMEDIATELY FINISH A BUSINESS WE HAVE WORKED FOR 25 YEARS TO BUILD.

WE DO THESE TRIPS PURELY TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS, WITH NO INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS, JOURNALISM OR AGENDAS, AND WE REVEL IN THE CHANCE TO DO THINGS BETTER THAN HOW THEY WERE DONE IN THE PAST. THESE DAYS WE HAVE NO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SPURIOUS ELEMENTS OF HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING SUCH AS PORTERS, MASS TOURISM, SANITATION PROBLEMS, THE BC SOAP OPERA AND LOCAL IMPACT, SO GET TO ENTER NEW RANGES IN A STYLE THAT IS FAST, LIGHT AND NO IMPACT.

THESE EXPEDITIONS ARE ‘EX RATED’, MEANING THEY ARE OUTSIDE THE NORMS OF OF POPULAR OPINION AND TASTE, AND NOT FOR THOSE EASILY OFFENDED OR WANTING A PREDICTABLE DINNER PARTY-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE. WE SWEAR, POINT AND GIVE THE FINGER AND INVOKE ALEISTER CROWLEY AS AN ALPINIST ALL FOR EFFECT – BECAUSE THESE EXPEDITIONS GO TO THE HEART OF WHAT IT MEANS TO TRAVEL TO FORBIDDEN LANDS TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS THAT ALMOST NOBODY EVEN KNOWS EXIST.

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CONTENT ON THESE TRIPS WILL NOT BE FOUND IN 250 CHARACTERS, ONLY ON OUR INDEPENDENT, ZERO-COOKIES WEBSITE THAT IS UNADULTERATED BY ANYONE AND ANYTHING INCLUDING SPELLCHECKS. USUALLY AT A MINIMUM OF 300 WORDS LONG, YOU MAY NEED TO CLICK A LINK OR TWO, AND IF YOU CAN’T DO THAT THESE TRIPS ARE NOT FOR YOU AND OUR FILTER HAS WORKED.

SERIOUS ENQUIRIES ARE INVITED. BEFORE DOING SO CONSIDER IF YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF THREE WEEKS IN AUTUMN, ARE PREPARED FOR THE COLD, HAVE THE APTITUDE FOR GENUINE EXTREME TRAVEL, AND HAVE THE STOMACH FOR THE COSTS, RESEARCH AND MOTIVATION THAT GOES WITH THAT.

AS ALWAYS TEAMS ARE SMALL AND NUMBERS LIMITED.

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*YES THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO THE TV SERIES HOLIDAYS IN THE DANGER ZONE: PLACES THAT DON’T EXIST BY SIMON REEVE, ONE OF THE FEW SOURCES THAT GOT INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RIGHT ALONG WITH ASIA OVERLAND.