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OUR POST A WEEK OR SO AGO ABOUT POSITIONS AT FTRE HAS BROUGHT INTERESTING RESULTS – WHO KNEW SO MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO DO THIS, AND WE APPRECIATE EVERY ONE – BUT IT HAS ALSO BROUGHT SOME CONFUSION OVER WHAT THE JOB IS SO WE WILL CLARIFY THINGS HERE.

THIS IS NOT A WELL ROUNDED AND BALANCED PROFILE, THIS IS A SPECIALIST ROLE THAT INTERSECTS PLANNING, MOUNTAINEERING AND EXTREME TRAVEL TO SENSITIVE AREAS. WE SAID IN THE FIRST POST AND WE WILL REITERATE IT HERE – THIS IS NOT A GUIDING ROLE, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WE NEED MUCH MORE.

THE RADAR CHART ABOVE SHOWS THE VECTORS WE IDENTIFY AS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE JOB, THOUGH OF COURSE NO ONE FITS THIS EXACTLY. OUR POINT IS, JUST BEING A CLIMBER OR GUIDE IS NOT ENOUGH – IN SOME PLACES THERE’S ONE ON EVERY CORNER – THIS IS THE WORK OF ARRANGING AND EXECUTING EXPEDITIONS, TO PLACES WHERE CLIMBING AND GUIDING ARE IRRELEVANT.

THE TANGIBLE ELEMENTS WITH THIS ROLE ARE SIMPLE HARDWORK, IN HARD ENVIRONMENTS THAT REQUIRE LONG PERIODS GETTING SHIT DONE. FITNESS IS PARAMOUNT AS WE HAVE LOADS TO MOVE AND GROUND TO COVER ON FOOT, ON TOP OF THE WEAR AND TEAR OF BIG DISTANCE TRAVEL. THIS IS NOT TOURISM AND OUR TRIPS ARE LONG, SO BEING ROBUST AND DEPENDABLE IS ESSENTIAL TO TRIP PLANNING. OUR TEAMSTERS PAY REAL MONEY AND TRAIN HARD FOR THEIR EXPEDITIONS, AND WE AS WORKING CLIMBERS CANNOT LET THEM DOWN.

EXPEDITIONS DEMAND SITUATION-SPECIFIC LOGISTICS, AND IN CHINA THIS IS UNLIKE ANYWHERE ELSE. A NORMAL TRIP HAS ALL THE EQUATIONS ABOUT GETTING GEAR UP AND DOWN MOUNTAINS, TRAVEL DISTANCES etc, PLUS A WORKING APTITUDE FOR GEOGRAPHY OVER AN AREA THE SIZE OF EUROPE. OUR LOGISTICS AND PLANNING CONUNDRUMS INCLUDE THINGS LIKE CAMELS, SENSITIVE POLITICS, AIR FREIGHT, GLACIAL MELT CYCLES AND NOMADS, WHICH MEANS A HEAD FOR RESEARCH, OBSERVATION AND MULTI-FACTOR CALCULATIONS.

THE FIRST THING WE WILL SAY WILL BE TO DO A TRIP WITH US, BECAUSE UNLESS YOU ARE ONE OF A HANDFUL OF CLIMBERS WHO HAVE CLIMBED IN XINJIANG, YOUR APTITUDE FOR THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF WHAT WE DO IS UNKNOWN. NEPAL, PAKISTAN, SOUTH AMERICA AND EVEN THE ‘STANS ARE NOT LIKE THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF CHINA, AND NO EXPERIENCE ELSEWHERE SUBSTITUTES.

FINALLY, WHAT ALLUDES SOME IS THAT THIS IS WORK, IT IS NOT RECREATION, SO IF YOU WANT TO GET YOUR KICKS CLIMBING THEN GO TAKE A HOLIDAY AND DO WHAT YOU WANT. THIS IS WORKING CLIMBING, WE ARE WORKING CLIMBERS, AND THIS IS PROPER CAREER STUFF, WHERE THE EXECUTION OF COMPLEX AND UNIQUE EXPEDITIONS IS A THRILL INDEPENDENT OF ANY CLIMBING. THIS A CONSUMMATE CHARACTER AND LIFE OUTLOOK THAT CAN TAKE ON OBJECTIVES SUCH AS THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 IN WINTER AND TRIPS TO PLACES SO SENSITIVE THEY TAKE YEARS TO PLAN AND EXCRUCIATING DETAILS. WE DEAL WITH LARGE SUMS OF REAL MONEY AND AUTHORITIES THAT HAVE INCREDIBLE POWER, WHICH ALL DEMANDS A WORLD VIEW MORE MATURE THAN DIRT BAGGING.

IF EVEN 75% OF THIS IS YOU – THE RIGHT 75% – THEN WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. WE SUGGEST MATCHING YOUR OWN CHART TO THE ONE ABOVE SO WE CAN HAVE A SMART CONVERSATION. THE REWARDS ARE GREAT, BUT THEY ARE SILENT ACHIEVER TYPE STUFF THAT WON’T MAKE THE TABLOIDS YET WILL SILENCE THE TABLE AT DINNER PARTIES.

YOU KNOW WHERE THE ENGAGE TAB IS.

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