K2, THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM & HIGH LAND TIBET RUN THE FUTURE RISK OF GOING FROM NOTHING TO FULL-TILT TOURISM OVERNIGHT. IN SOME PLACES IT’S WELL UNDERWAY.
THERE’S WILDERNESS AND THERE’S WILDERNESS.
WILDERNESS AS WE COMMONLY UNDERSTAND IT FROM A MODERN PERSPECTIVE MEANS PLACES SET ASIDE FROM HUMAN USE WHERE THE NATURAL WORLD IS ALLOWED TO EXIST INDEPENDANT OF ANY DEMANDS. THESE AREAS ARE SECTIONED OFF BOTH GEOGRAPHICALLY & ADMINISTRATIVELY TO BE PROTECTED, AND ARE MANAGED TO VARIOUS DEGREES TO STAY WILD. THIS IDEA IS SURPRISINGLY RECENT, DATING TO THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, AND HAS PROGRESSED A LONG WAY WITH THE IDEAS FOR PRESERVING WILDERNESS NOW INCLUDING LARGE AREAS OF THE HIMALAYAS, SOUTH AMERICA, THE POLES ETC. PARTLY THIS IS TO PRESERVE WILDERNESS IN IT’S OWN RIGHT FROM THE ESCALATING DEMANDS FOR RESOURCES, AND PARTLY BECAUSE AS TRAVEL HAS INCREASED THESE PLACES HAVE BECOME RESOURCES THEMSELVES. IN SOME AREAS NOW THE PROFITS FROM TOURISM OUTSTRIP THOSE OF MINING, FORESTRY & FARMING.
THIS IS NOT THE SORT OF WILDERNESS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
THE OTHER SORT OF WILDERNESS IS PLACES NOT PROTECTED BY INTENTIONAL ADMINISTRATION, BUT BY THEIR OWN WILDNESS INSTEAD. PLACES LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM & MUCH OF TIBET. THESE ARE PLACES SO WILD THAT RATHER THAN BEING CONTAINED FOR PRESERVATION THEY ARE NEGLECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST TOO HARD TO DO ANYTHING WITH. HISTORICALLY THESE PLACES FORMED THE BORDERS OF CIVILIZATIONS, SEEN AS WASTELANDS BECAUSE CIVILIZATION COULDN’T SUBSIST THERE, AVOIDED FOR MUCH OF HISTORY AND AT MOST FOUGHT AROUND OR QUICKLY CROSSED ON THE WAY SOMEWHERE ELSE. THOSE HISTORIES WERE HANDED DOWN THROUGH THE CENTURIES, HISTORY ITSELF STIGMATIZING THESE PLACES TO BE FEARED. TODAY MOST OF ASIA IS STILL DEFINED BY THESE PLACES.
TIBET AND THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM ARE PERFECT EXAMPLES OF THIS, FOR MOST OF HISTORY HAVING BEEN TOO ADVERSE TO HUMAN SURVIVAL TO SUSTAIN ENOUGH PEOPLE TO NEED MANAGEMENT, BUT NOWADAYS THE THREAT COMES FROM THE SUDDEN ONSLAUGHT OF MASS TOURISM. UNLIKE THE KHUMBU, PAKISTAN SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM, SIKKIM ETC WHERE TOURISM INCREASED INCREMENTALLY AND THE ENVIRONMENT WAS MANAGED (TO VERYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS) AROUND IT, K2, THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM & HIGH LAND TIBET RUN THE FUTURE RISK OF GOING FROM NOTHING TO FULL-TILT TOURISM OVERNIGHT. IN SOME PLACES IT’S WELL UNDERWAY.
THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT PLACES LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 & TIBET’S THIRD POLE ARE BARELY DOCUMENTED IN THEIR PRISTINE STATES, SO ANY DEVELOPMENT LAYERED ON TOP COULD BE SWIFT, HEAVY & WITH NO REFERENCE AS TO WHAT SHOULD BE PRESERVED. THESE PLACES DON’T HAVE THE STEADY FLOW OF VISITORS TO FIND OUT WHAT’S THERE, MEANING THE INDUSTRY THAT DRIVES MASS COMMERCIAL CHANGE IN THESE PLACES WILL BE LEAD BY THE EVEREST-MODEL OF TOURISM, ie EVER-LARGER TENT TOWNS OF EVER-INCREASING POPULATIONS THAT CAN’T BE HEALTHILY SUSTAINED.
HOW INEVITABLE THIS SUDDEN COMMERCIALIZATION WILL BE IS UP TO US.BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE CONVERSATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOMES. AND FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IS AT THE TABLE.
FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS TAKES THE POSITION THAT WE CAN BE THE EXAMPLE OF SUSTAINABLE VISITS TO PLACES LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM. DECADES OF GOING THERE, DECADES OF DISCUSSION WITH OTHERS WHO GO THERE, DECADES OF INTERACTION WITH THE XINJIANG AUTHORITIES & DECADES OF RUNNING SUSTAINABLE TRIPS TO SENSITIVE PARTS OF TIBET GIVES US A WORKING MODEL TO PLAY WITH.
WE ADVOCATE SMALL, NEGLIGIBLE-FOOTPRINT EXPEDITIONS INTO THESE TRUELY REMOTE PLACES THAT DEMONSTRATE THE LEVEL OF SUSTAINABILITY THESE PLACES CAN TOLERATE. WE KNOW RIGHT NOW, DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTS THERE, THINGS ARE NOWHERE NEAR AS SELF-HEALING AS THE SOUTH SIDE, THERE SIMPLY ISN’T THE PRECIPITATION, TEMPERATURE RANGE, SOIL DEPTH & BIODIVERSITY TO ALLOW IT. WE ALSO KNOW THAT CHINA’S UNIQUE INFRASTRUCTURE CAN BE EITHER THE BEST OR THE WORST THING FOR PROTECTING THIS.
ENGAGED THE RIGHT WAY THE ACCESS ELEMENTS IN CHINA ARE CURRENTLY RIGHT WHERE WE THINK THEY SHOULD BE; EFFICIENT ROAD TRANSPORT THAT REDUCES THE OVERALL HUMAN TRAFFIC, CAMELS THAT PRESENT INDIGENOUS & MINIMAL IMPACT PORTAGE BEYOND THE ROAD, AND HIGH TECH BASE CITIES LIKE URUMQI & CHENGDU THAT ARE EFFICIENT TO RUN LOGISTICS FROM. YES, ROADS BUILT INTO THE MOUNTAINS HAVE IMPACT ON THE TERRAIN – BUT IF THEY ARE ENGINEERED ENOUGH TO ALLOW RAPID TRANSIT IN EFFICIENT VEHICLES TO MINIMIZE THE NEED FOR THE CONSTANT ACTIVITY OF LOW-EFFICIENCY ACCESS FOUND ELSEWHERE THINGS ARE CLEANER. LARGE MODERN CITIES REQUIRING LESS FLIGHT CHANGES & BETTER ACCESS TO RESOURCES MEANS LESS TIME SPENT STUCK WITH INEFFICIENT LOGISTICS DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE IMPACTS.
PROVING THIS BACKEND CAN WORK TO SUPPORT A HEALTHY CLIMBING SCENE ON THE KARAKORUM’S NORTH SIDE, SHOWS WE DON’T NEED TO BUILD MORE INTO THE WILDERNESS IN WHAT WILL BECOME A BOTTOMLESS PROCESS ONCE IT STARTS. THE PROBABILITY OF INCREASED NUMBERS WANT TO TO GO THERE IS HIGH, BUT WE CAN KEEP THE BULK OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BACK IN THE CITIES, AND REFINE RATHER THAN INCREASE THE PART THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE ROAD.
FROM OUR POSITION MUCH IS BASED ON THE FACT THAT EXPEDITION CLIMBERS TODAY ARE FAR MORE AWARE OF THESE ISSUES THAN THEY WERE EVEN A DECADE AGO. EVERYONE IS UNEASY WITH THE TRASH, EXCREMENT & REFUSE THAT COVERS THE KHUMBU HOWEVER MUCH IS FLOWN OUT EVERY YEAR, BUT EVERY YEAR PLENTY COMES BACK UP AGAIN – THE TESTIMONY OF CANS FROM THE 70’S IN THE EARTH SAYS IT ALL. IT’S LIKE SITTING IN TRAFFIC AND COMPLAINING ABOUT IT…
CONTEMPORARY RESOURCES NOW MAKE SMALL FOOTPRINT EXPEDITIONS EVER SMALLER, TO THE POINT THAT ONE OR TWO CLIMBING TEAMS TO THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 CAN BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DETECT. STARTING FROM HOW & WHAT WE BUY IN THE CITIES, THROUGH THE LOW-EMISSIONS VEHICLES & SOFT FOOTED IMPACT OF THE CAMELS FOR THE ACCESS, THEN OUR LOW-IMPACT BASECAMPS THAT USE CLEAN GAS, CLEAN LATRINES & MINIMAL TRASH, THEN FINALLY OUR POLICY OF MINIMAL IMPACT ON WHAT IS STILL A PRISTINE MOUNTAIN SIDE, WE CAN LEAVE NOTHING THAT WILL BE THERE THE FOLLOWING SEASON.
SOCIALLY WE GET THE CHANCE TO SET THE EXAMPLE OF HEALTHY WILDERNESS ACCESS. THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD MAY HAVE DUBIOUS RECORDS ON THESE THINGS, BUT AS THE ONES ON THE GROUND WE DON’T HAVE TO. WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO NEVER START THE CONVEYOR BELT OF GORETEX CLAD MASSES UP OVER-TRAFFICKED TRAILS THROUGH AID-SUPPORTED TOWNSHIPS OF CULTURALLY DEGRADED LOCALS. HERE WE CAN COME AND GO MINUS THE MECHANATIONS OF AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY TO CARRY US. THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED IN THESE PLACES FOR CENTURIES KNOW FULL WELL THE INS & OUTS OF LIVING & TRAVELLING IN THE PLACES WE WANT TO VISIT, SO WE WORK WITH THEM RATHER THAN REPLACE THEM WITH ARGUABLY LESS SUSTAINABLE METHODS. WE CARRY OUR OWN SHELTERS RATHER THAN EXPECT HOTELS, WE MOVE OUR GEAR WITH LOCAL ANIMALS INSTEAD OF MIGRANT LABOR, WE EAT TOGETHER & COMMUNICATE SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE MOUNTAINS MEAN TO THEM.
THE TEAMS THAT GO TO K2’S NORTH SIDE ARE MADE OF MUCH MORE THAN JUST CLIMBERS AND INCLUDE LIAISON OFFICERS, TRANSLATORS, ANIMAL DRIVERS, VEHICLE DRIVERS & CAMP CREW. THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE EVERYONE INVOLVED IS REPRESENTED AND THE THINGS THAT GET TALKED ABOUT HERE MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE SYSTEM. AS YET THE INDUSTRY IS SO SMALL THAT IDEAS THROWN AROUND AT BASECAMP WILL GET HEARD AT XMA HEADQUARTERS IN FAR OFF URUMQI THEN POSSIBLY IN CMA HEADQUARTERS IN BEIJING. WE KNOW BECAUSE WE’VE SEEN IT HAPPEN AND ARE TRIPS ARE THE RESULT.
OUR AIM IS FOR YOU THE CLIMBER TO BE ABLE TO STAND ON THE GLACIER BENEATH K2’S NORTH RIDGE AND KNOW THAT BY BEING THERE YOU ARE PART OF THE PROCESS TO PRESERVE IT. FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS’ WAY OF ACHEIVING THAT IS WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
