MAKING IT HAPPEN. EXPEDITIONS 104: THE TEAM

IT’S ONE THING TO KNOW YOU WANT TO HEAD OFF ON A TRIP. IT’S ANOTHER TO DO IT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. LARGE TEAMS OR SOLO, ‘THE TEAM’ WORKS AS BOTH A COLLECTION OF INDIVIDUALS AND AS A UNIT ITSELF. WE’VE FOUND OVER THE YEARS IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE IF A TEAM IS A BUNCH OF FRIENDS OR AN ATHLETE TEAM FROM SPONSORS; THE SAME DYNAMICS ARE AT PLAY.

WITH US CLIMBING DIRECTLY WITH FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS FUNCTIONS MUCH LIKE ANOTHER CERTAIN PROFESSION WHERE YOU PAY SOMEONE TO DO WHAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE ALONE. BASICALLY YOU’VE PAID TO TAKE ON A CERTAIN OBJECTIVE SO FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS DOES ALL IT CAN TO GET YOU THERE AND BACK AGAIN. IT’S YOUR TRIP, WITH YOUR CHOICES AND IDEAS. THIS IS PERFECT FOR THE SINGLE CLIMBER OR SMALL EXISTING TEAM (ESPECIALLY COUPLES) THAT’S CLEAR AND AGREED ON THE OBJECTIVE. BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP OF COMMANDING THE EXPEDITION BASICS THINGS HAVE MINIMAL REASON TO NOT WORK OUT.

ALSO BECAUSE WE ARE OUTSIDE OF YOUR GREATER LIFESTYLE THERE’S MINIMAL BAGGAGE INVOLVED; WE AREN’T INVOLVED IN OUTSIDE THE CLEAR PARAMETERS OF THE TRIP SO IT’S BOTH SIMPLE AND OFTEN AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BACK HOME. THIS CAN WORK ACROSS MULTIPLE TRIPS AND WE SEE MANY CLIMBERS ACROSS THE YEARS, KNOWING NOTHING OF THEIR LIVES BETWEEN TRIPS. IT FEELS PROFESSIONAL BECAUSE IT IS.

WITH FRIENDS CLIMBING WITH A GROUP OF FAMILIAR PEOPLE CAN BE THE STUFF OF LIFE. WHEN A GROUP IS ALL KNOWN TO EACH OTHER IT CAN WORK AS A VERY EFFICIENT UNIT WHERE 1 + 1 = 3. MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES CAN BE ATTEMPTED FROM A SINGLE CENTRAL BASE, ITS EASY MOVING LOADS AND TIME SPENT TRAVELLING IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ENJOYABLE. ORGANIZING A TEAM VIA A SINGLE ‘LEADER’ CAN BE EASIER, AND COSTS CAN BE TEMPERED ON THINGS LIKE SHARED FOOD, ROPES & GROUP PURCHASES.

A TEAM OF FRIENDS CAPACITY TO ADAPT TO VARIOUS DEGREES OF ABILITY IS WHAT MAKES OR BREAKS IT. OTHERWISE GOOD TEAMS HAVE COLLAPSED BECAUSE DIFFERENT MEMBERS HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THINGS. ANY GROUP OF FRIENDS NEED TO ACCEPT THIS IS AN ELEMENT AND HAVE A WAY TO WORK WITH IT BEFORE ISSUES ARISE. AS TRIP PROVIDERS AND BEING OUTSIDE THE CLOSE DYNAMIC, WE NEED TO WORK WITH THE TEAM AS A WHOLE, SO OFTEN THE IDEA OF SPLITTING UP ISN’T DOABLE.

JOINING A TEAM THIS IS VERY DEPENDENT ON THE OBJECTIVE. NOT SO MUCH SPECIFICS LIKE THE PEAK OR RIVER, BUT THE EFFORT NEEDED TO MAKE THE OBJECTIVE HAPPEN. JOINING A TEAM CAN WORK WELL OR IT CAN SINK. WHEN IT WORKS, THE ELEMENT OF SEPARATION PEOPLE HAVE GIVES THEM THE ABILITY TO PRESENT HOW THEY CHOOSE AND BE THE PEOPLE THEY WANT. SOME PEOPLE WORK VERY WELL THIS WAY AND IT’S ESSENTIALLY HOW WE WORK ALMOST EVERY TRIP. BUT IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE.

SINGLE CLIMBERS USUALLY FIND THAT THE COSTS OF DOING THEIR OWN TRIP DIRECT WITH FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS AS DEFACTO PARTNER IS WORTH NOT HAVING TO RISK A DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM. WE GET THAT, SO WE WORK WITH THE IDEA AND DON’T RAMP UP COSTS TO MAKE UP FOR IT.

LIKEWISE WE KNOW SMALL TEAMS OF 2 OR 3 WANT TO DO THINGS TRADITIONALLY GEARED TOWARDS MUCH LARGER GROUPS, ie BIG PEAKS, SO WE SCALE THE LOGISTICS INSTEAD OF RUNNING TRIPS AT MINIMUMS OR CONSTRUCTING ARTIFICIAL GROUPS THAT COST WELL BUT CAN GET VOLATILE AS ANYONE WHOSE DONE A COMMERCIAL 8000mER WILL KNOW.