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THE KEY TO ZERO IMPACT EXPEDITIONS IS DESIGNING THEM THAT WAY FROM THE START, NOT LEAVING IT AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. LIKE THE BURNING MAN FESTIVAL, OUR TRIPS ARE ULTRA-INTENTIONAL AND HIGHLY SPECIFIC, WITH THINGS LIKE ACCOUNTABILITY AND VISION BUILT IN.
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WE’VE NEVER LIKED THE MAINSTREAM, AND THOUGH OUR PLACE IN THE 8000m ‘COMMUNITY’ IS TACITLY ACCEPTED, OUR FRINGE POSITION GOES WAY BACK TO THINGS LIKE WHEN CLIMBING WAS FOR RADICALS, TRAVEL MEANT WAR ZONES, 90s FREAK CONCERTS AND RAVES, AND THE SORT OF RADICAL STUFF ASSOCIATED WITH BURNING MAN 20 YEARS AGO.
SURE BURNING MAN ISN’T PERFECT, AND HAS APPARENTLY SOLD OUT IN SOMEONES VISION AT LEAST A HUNDRED TIMES, BUT THEY SET A PRECEDENT FOR AT LEAST TRYING, WHICH IS SOMETHING THE HIGH ALTITUDE INDUSTRY HAS NEVER REALLY TRIED. SOLAR TOILETS AND OCCASIONAL HELI RUNS TO REMOVE TRASH AND EXCREMENT FROM PLACES LIKE CONCORDIA AND EBC HAVE LAREGELY FAILED, AND EVERY YEAR REFUSE JUST PILES HIGHER, FREEZES INTO THE GLACIERS AND CAMPS, AND BECOMES WINDBORNE ALL OVER THE VALLEYS. A FEW WELL INTENTIONED NGOs BATTLE AGAINST THE EVERY-EXPANDING COMMERCIAL COMPANIES, BUT FOR ALL THE DOLLARS THAT GO UP THOSE GLACIERS ALMOST NONE OF IT GOES TO BASIC SANITATION.
THE STATS ARE AMAZING, WITH HUMAN SHIT BEING REMOVED BY THE TONNAGE IN THE ORDER OF 2-10t A SEASON, BUT STILL BARELY MAKING A DIFFERENCE. PEOPLE CAN GET THINGS LIKE PA SYSTEMS, YOGA STUDIOS, AND BOTTLES OF OXYGEN UP TO AND DOWN FROM THESE CAMPS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING ANYTHING LIKE TRASH AND SHIT BACK THE INTEREST IS GONE.
MUCH OF THE PROBLEM LIES WITH THE NATURE OF ECONOMIES, WHERE THINGS ARE DETERMINED BY THE DOLLARS A DAY FOR IMMIGRANT LABOR MATCHED AGAINST WHAT A CORRUPT BUREAUCRACY CAN MAKE. MANY BLAME THE LIKE US WHO QUESTION THIS, FOR SOMEHOW WANTING TO DENY PLACES LIKE NEPAL AND PAKISTAN A RIGHT TO INCOME, THOUGH THEY ARE IGNORANT OF THE WAY VARIOUS GROUPS ARE EFFECTIVELY MAFIAS WHO EXPLOIT THEIR OWN PEOPLE. A QUICK LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF WHAT A CLIMBER PAYS THAT GOES TO GOVERNMENTS AND PROFIT COMPARED TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE HARD WORK RAPIDLY DISPELLS ANY ALLUSION THAT CONTINUED POVERTY IS THE FAULT OF CLIMBERS ALONE.
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SO WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?
WELL, AT FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS WE CHOOSE TO DO NOTHING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS IN NEPAL AND PAKISTAN. WE HAVE OUR OWN PATCH OF WILDERNESS TO TAKE CARE OF AND THE LAST THING WE NEED IS ENCROACHMENT FROM WHAT HAPPENS THERE. THE SANITATION AND CLIMATE ISSUES ELSEWHERE ARE NOTHING NEW – WE’VE KNOW ABOUT THEM SINCE THE 1980s – SO FIGURE WHATEVER MAKES THEM UNRESOLVABLE CAN’T BE CHANGED BY US.
INSTEAD WE PROTECT OUR OWN AREAS, WITH OUR OWN METHODS, BASED ON OUR OWN ETHOS THAT WE SHARE WITH THINGS LIKE BURNING MAN. WE THINK HUMANS AND THESE ENVIRONMENTS CAN COEXIST CLEANLY, AND RATHER THAN WASTE ENERGY TRYING TO DIG BACK A PAST, BUT THAT EFFORT INTO THE FUTURE.
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HERE WE HAVE APPROPRIATED THE BURNING MAN ETHOS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WORKS ON A SCALE AND IN A PLACE WE THINK GIVES IT CREDIT. WE UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS, FAILINGS, AND ISSUES BUT SEE EFFORTS TO RESOLVE THEM – WHICH IS A LOT MORE THAN WE SEE COMING FROM ANYTHING TO DO WITH MOST MOUNTAINEERING.
UNLIKE BURNING MAN, FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS GOAL IS NOT TO CREATE A UTOPIAN SOCIETY, BUT TO MADE A NEW TYPE OF EXPEDITION MODEL. WE SEE WHAT GOES ON IN NEPAL AND PAKISTAN AS THE ENTROPY OF A DINOSAUR MODEL THAT IS THE RESULT OF 1980s CONSUMERISM AND CULTURES THAT HAS REACHED IT’S EXTREMITIES OF SUSTAINABILITY, AND HAVE REINVENTED WHAT TEAMS IN HIGH ALTIUDE WILDERNESS FUNCTIONS LIKE IN PLACES WHERE THE HISTORY IS DIFFERENT AND THE FUTURE WILL BE ITS OWN.
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RADICAL INCLUSION
YOU ARE ON A TRIP OF OURS BECAUSE YOU FOUND THE LIMITS ELSEWHERE THEN GOT THROUGH THE HOOPS OF OUR BOOKING PROCESS. WE DON’T LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE, AND THANKFULLY NEVER SEEM TO MEET ANY, SO BEING HERE MEANS YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
BY BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES WE REMOVE THE ATTITUDES THAT TYPECAST 8000m CLIMBING, WHERE EVERY BASCAMP IS SIMILAR INCLUDING MANY OF THE WAYS THINGS ARE PERCEIVED. OUR TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF CLIMBERS FROM BACKGROUNDS VERY DIFFERENT TO THE NORMAL PROGRESSIONS TO 8000m, WHO BRING THEIR OWN IDEAS WITH THEM TO A PLACE TO PLAY OUT AWAY FROM THE COMMERCIAL CIRCUS.
THIS MAKES OUR TEAMS AND CAMPS SPECIAL, BECAUSE THEY SHARE LITTLE OF THE FORMAT THAT INDUSTRIAL CAMPS HAVE, AND WITH THIS COMES A SENSE OF INCLUSION AND RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE EACH PERSON IS MAKING THEIR OWN TRIP FOR THEMSELVES.
GIFTING
AT BURNING MAN THIS IS ABOUT GIVING FREELY WITHOUT EXPECTATION OF REMUNERATION, AND IN THAT HIGHLY TRANSACTIONAL ENVIRONMENT MAKES SENSE, BUT NEEDS ADAPTION FOR THE ISOLATED PLACES WE ARE IN.
ON OUR TRIPS GIFTING MEANS GIVING YOUR EXPERTISE AND ENERGY FREELY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE VALUE OF WHAT YOU HAVE IS BEST FELT WHEN CONTRIBUTED, AND THAT OTHERS ARE ON THE SAME PAGE. IT IS NOT SOME ESOTERIC IDEOLOGY, IT IS A WAY FOR A SMALL GROUND IN AN ALMOST CLOSED CIRCUIT TO FUNCTION AT ITS BEST FOR WHAT ARE DIFFICULT OBJECTIVES, BEING CLOSER TO HOW SPACE STATIONS OPERATE THAN HIPPY COMMUNEs.
DECOMMODIFICATION
ON FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS TRIPS YOUR MONEY GOES ON EXPERIENCE, WITH EVERY DOLLAR GOING TO MAKING AUTHENTIC EXPEDITIONS TO PLACES NO ONE ELSE KNOWS ABOUT HAPPEN. YOU ARE NOT BUYING A BRAND OR EVEN REALLY SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT, JUST SIMPLY THE COMPLICATED STRING OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLIES THAT MAKE A UNIQUE TRIP REALITY.
THE VALUE IN OUR TRIPS DOESN’T REALLY EXIST CONSENSUALLY BECAUSE SO FEW PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THESE SORTS OF TRIPS MEAN. EVEN OTHER 8000m CLIMBERS RARELY HAVE THE PERSPECTIVE THAT PUTS TRIPS LIKE OURS IN THEIR PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU WANT TO CLIMB 8000m PEAKS THEN HEAD TO PAKISTAN, BUT IF WANT TO CLIMB THE GREATEST EXTENT OF ALPINE OBJECTIVES THEN WE ARE YOUR CHOICE
EVEN THE GEAR WE USE IS MOSTLY OUTSIDE THE VALUE SYSTEM OF OTHER EXPEDITIONS, WHERE THINGS ARE BASED ON BEING CHEAP, EXPENDABLE, AND STANDARDIZED. IN CONTRAST OUR EQUIPMENT IS EVALUATED BY OTHER MEANS, SET BY OUR UNIQUE DEMANDS, AND ALMOST ALIEN TO ANYONE COMPARING IT TO WHAT GETS USED SOMEWHERE LIKE EVEREST.
RADICAL SELF-RELIANCE
NORMAL 8000m TRIPS ACCEPT YOU AS A CUSTOMER WHERE ALL OF THE RELIANCE STUFF IS TAKEN CARE OF WITHOUT MUCH OF YOUR INPUT. OUR TRIPS ARE VERY DIFFERENT.
WE ALL HAVE TO SURVIVE THE TIME AT HIGH ALTITUDE BY MAKING GOOD DECISIONS, AND THERE IS A GENUINE FRONTIER ELEMENT WHERE WE NEED TO DIG IN AND KEEP THINGS GOING. EACH TEAMSTER CAN BE PROUD OF THE WAY CAMPS AND THE CLIMBING RUNS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES DOING IT, AND PART OF THAT PRIDE IS IN DOING IT WELL WITH NO FOOTPRINT AS THE METRIC.
WE REALLY VALUE WHAT CLIMBERS BRING TO THIS, AND RECOGNIZE IT WHEN IT HAPPENS. WE HAVE SEEN HOW THE MOST AWARE CLIMBERS ARE THE ONES THAT DO BEST OUT THERE, BOTH CLIMBING AND SUSTAINING THEMSELVES, HAVING AN INITIATIVE AND PERSPECTIVE THAT DIFFERENTIATES THEM FROM MOUNTAIN-TOURISTS BY THEIR ABILITY TO ADAPT. WE DON’T FIND ANY NEED FOR THINGS LIKE GROUP YOGA SESSIONS OR PARTIES BECAUSE THE VERY NATURE OF THE PLACE IS ALREADY 100% ENGAGING AND THE DAYS ALREADY FULL.
RADICAL SELF-EXPRESSION
WHAT WE DO IS CLIMBING FOR A KIND OF PUNK ETHIC, OF PLACING AUTHENTICITY OF EXPERIENCE ABOVE COMMERCIAL OR CONSENSUAL INTEREST. WE SEE OUR TRIPS AS THE EXPRESSION OF WHAT CLIMBING IN THIS DAY CAN BE, AND FIND THAT OUR TEAM MEMBERS DO TOO AS THEY DISCOVER HOW DIFFERENT THINGS ARE.
BECAUSE OUR TRIPS ARE NOT GUIDED IN ANY TRADITIONAL SENSE, HOW YOU CLIMB IS UP TO YOU AND THE WAY THE TEAM FUNCTIONS. THIS CHANGES EVERY TRIP, AS DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND CONDITIONS PRESENT, WITH EVERY ASCENT REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE ON IT IN WAYS THAT CANNOT BE REPEATED. THERE ARE NO FIXED LINES TO SUMMITS OR EVEN USUALLY FIXED CAMPS, SO THE WAY THESE THINGS ARE DETERMINED IS UP TO HOW THE TEAM THINKS, AND TEAMS THAT HAVE GOOD DYNAMICS CAN DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN WAYS NO COMMERCIAL TRIP WILL ALLOW.
COMMUNAL EFFORT
IF YOU THOUGHT THESE TRIPS WERE GOING TO BE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR SUMMIT YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE. WHILST EVERYONE IS USUALLY VERY SELF-DIRECTED, TO THRIVE IN A SMALL TEAM IN SERIOUS WILDERNESS MEANS WORKING AS COMMUNITY, WHICH NEVER MEANS GROUP-THINK, BUT DOES MEAN PULLING YOUR WEIGHT, OFTEN LITERALLY.
THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE PART OF REAL FUNCTIONING, DEMOCRATIC, AND DETERMINED TEAMS, WHERE THE COMBINED EFFORT OF THE WHOLE IS FAR GREATER THAN WHAT A BUNCH OF UNCONNECTED SINGULARITIES CAN ACHEIVE. THIS IS NOT LOWEST-DENOMINATOR STUFF, BUT INSTEAD ADVANCED TEAMWORK, WHERE THE DIFFERENCES OF INDIVIDUALS ARE OUR STRENGTH NOT SOMETHING TO BE HOMOGENIZED.
THIS COMMUNAL DYNAMIC IS WHAT KEEPS OUR IMPACT IN CHECK, WITH EVERYONE AWARE AND WORKING TO HAVE AS LITTLE TRACE AS POSSIBLE. THE COMMON GOAL OF CLIMBING CLEANLY AS A SINGLE CONCEPT, NOT TWO OPPOSING ONES, GIVES US A WAY OF PERCEIVING THAT IS UNIQUE AND IS A GOAL FAR MORE ELEGANT THAN SIMPLY TOPOGRAPHICAL.
IF THIS DOENS’T SOUND LIKE YOU, AND YOU HAVE MADE IT AS FAR AS OUR BASECAMPS, THERE ARE THE OPTIONS TO EITHER BE EDUCATED OR ON THE NEXT CAMEL BACK TO CIVILIZATION.
OUR BASECAMPS ARE OUR BASECAMPS, SET UP BY THE TEAM AS WE SEE FIT EACH SEASON, HOW THEY WORK AND ARE USED IS DECIDED BY THE TEAMS ACCORDING TO THE MEMBERS, NOT PRESET BY THE COMPANY, SO ANY FAILINGS ARE OUR OURS AS WELL AS THE CHANCE TO FIX THINGS AND MAKE THEM BETTER.
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
WHEN YOU GET ON THAT PLANE BACK HOME, EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED YOU HAVE BEEN PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR. OBVIOUSLY UNFORSEEABLE STUFF IS GUARANTEED TO AN EXTENT, BUT HOW THE OVERALL TRIP WENT IS DOWN TO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL MEMBERS.
THIS MEANS PROBLEMS GET SHARED, BUT ALSO THAT GREAT ACHEIVEMENTS DO TOO, WITH EVERY MEMBER PART OF WHAT EVER SUCCESSES WE HAVE, OF WHICH THERE A FAR MORE THAN SIMPLY A SUMMIT OR NOT. IN FACT, WE WOULD RATHER SEE A TEAM SURVIVE CRAZY STUFF TOGETHER, THAN A BUNCH OF ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUCCESS MERELY FROM LUCK.
PARTICIPATION
YOU ARE NOT ON ANY TRIP OF OURS AS A SPECTATOR.
IMMEDIACY
WE DON’T HAVE DECADES TO WORK THIS OUT. THESE ISSUES COMPOUND EXPONENTIALLY WHILST WE ACT LIKE FROGS IN A POT OF WATER ON THE BOIL, SO A FEW CIGARETTE BUTTS BECOME HUNDREDS AS THE PERCEPTION OF POLLUTION IS ERODED. WHAT WE DO TO KEEP AREAS LIKE THE TRANS-KARAKORAM TRACT CLEAN IS SIMPLY USE WHAT’S THERE NOW AS THE STANDARD AND ANYTHING WORSE IS OUR FAULT. ‘PRISTINE’ IS A VERY CLEAR YARDSTICK IN BOTH TIME AND EXTENT, SO WE DON’T INVITE CONTAMINATION AND WE STAY ON TOP OF WHAT WE DO.
THERE’S NO PISSING BEHIND ROCKS OR TOILET PITS IN OUR CAMPS, INSTEAD LIKE AT BURNING MAN EVERYONE CARRIES A PISS BOTTLE OR WAGBAGS TO USE IMMEDIATELY AND THEN DUMP AT A SANITATION STATION TO BE CARRIED OUT. IT’S REALLY NOT A BIG DEAL. FOOD WASTE IS TREATED THE SAME DOWN TO COFFEE GROUNDS AND TEA LEAVES.
WHAT MATTERS IS EACH MINUTE OF EACH HOUR OF EACH DAY OF EACH SEASON IN PLACES LIKE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORAM. DAY TIME TEMPS ARE HUGE SO THINGS CHANGE FAST, MEANING THAT PISS BEHIND A BOULDER WILL FREEZE PERMANANTLY INTO THE GROUD WHEN THE SUN GOES, OR THOSE COFFEE GROUNDS WILL WASH INTO THE RIVERS WHEN THE AFTERNOON WATER LEVELS RISE. JUST AS WE SEE THE WAY THINGS LIKE POWER CHARGING AND USE SHIFT BY THE MINUTE, SO DO DOES OUR IMPACT.
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WHAT ALL THIS AMOUNTS TO IS THAT ZERO FOOTPRINT COMES EASILY TO OUR TEAMS, BECAUSE EVERYONE CARES AND THE BASICS LIKE TEAM SIZE AND LOGISTICS ARE VERY MANAGEABLE. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED IT, THIS DEGREE OF WILDERNESS IS STRIKINGLY ABSOLUTE, SO ANY DISCREPANCY IS EASY TO SPOT AND EASY TO ADDRESS BEFORE IT ESCALATES.
LIKE BURNING MAN, WE EMPHASIS SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES, MOSTLY FOUND IN THE ENERGY SOURCES WE USE AND THE MATERIALS THAT MEAN WE DON’T SEE THINGS LIKE TENTS SHREDDED AND ABANDONED AS TRASH, OR MILES OF FIXED LINES LEFT TO ROT. ALSO LIKE BURNING MAN WE COME AT THIS WITH NO INTENTION TO PLAY TO A NORMAL CROWD, WE KNOW WHAT WE DO IS FOR THE FRINGE, THE EXPLORATORY, AND THE VISIONARY, AND SO WHAT MANY WILL SEE AS DISAGREEABLE WE KNOW THERE IS A SMALL NUMBER WHO WILL SEE IT AND THRIVE.