“THE THINKING PERSONS EXPEDITIONS”. CLIMBING AS EDUCATION

THE FINEST THING SAID ABOUT OUR TRIPS IS BEING CALLED “THE THINKING CLIMBERS EXPEDITIONS”. WE DON’T ALWAYS GET GREAT PRESS, HAVING BEEN CALLED STATE AGENTS, RADICALS, WANNABES, HASBEENS, RIP-OFFS, RACISTS, CAVALIERS, DELUSIONAL, AND PART-OF-THE-PROBLEM, SO WHEN SOMEONE WHO HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CLIMBING WITH US GIVES US PRAISE WE FEEL COMPELLED TO EXPLAIN IT.

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THE IDEA OF CLIMBING A BIG PEAK JUST TO GET THE CERTIFICATE DOESN’T SIT WELL WITH US, AND THOUGH WE HAVE A SOLID HISTORY OF FIRST ASCENTS, NAMING PEAKS, AND TRYING VANGUARD STYLES OF CLIMBING, THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY MATTERS IS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE. WE KNOW THAT CLIMBING DOESN’T CURE CANCER, AND THAT STYLE IS ALL CLIMBING HAS, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT STYLE CAN INCLUDE EDUCATION AND ILLUMINATE SOMETHINGS THAT ARE OTHERWISE MISREPRESENTED, UNDOCUMENTED, UNKNOWN, OR EVEN LIED ABOUT.

WE DON’T JUST CLIMB FOR THE SAKE OF CLIMBING, AND EVERY TRIP WE RUN ENCOMPASSES OTHER ASPECTS THAT MAKE THEM ABOUT FAR MORE THAN JUST GOING SOMEWHERE NEW AND CLIMBING A NAMELESS PEAK. BY THEIR NATURE OUR TRIPS ARE TRUE EXPLORATORY EXPEDITIONS TO OBSCURE PLACES, WHICH MEANS A LOT MORE DEPTH AND DIMENSION THAN SIMPLY THE SPORT OF CLIMBING.

WE THINK OF OUR TRIPS AS ALTERNATIVE EXPEDITIONS, FUSING THE ETHICS OF THE PAST WITH THE CAPABILITY OF TODAY TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES FOR THE FUTURE. WE LOOK AT THE VAST AMOUNT OF UNCLIMBED HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS OUT THERE AND HOW TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, BY BEING BETTER THAN WHAT CAME BEFORE. THIS IS A PROCESS OF RESEARCH AND INTENT, COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS WHO GIVE A FUCK WHICH RANGES FROM THE AUTHORITIES THAT GRANT US PERMITS, THE COMPANIES WHO MAKE OUR GEAR, OUR CREW WHO EARN A LIVING, AND THE ORGANIZATIONS WHO STUDY THE PLACES WE GO TO.

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EDUCATION

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FIRST HAND TO THESE PLACES, TO OFFSET THE BALLOONING MISINFORMATION ABOUT THESE REGIONS, SOCIETIES, AND EVENTS. WE AIM TO REPLACE RUMOR, FAKE NEWS, MISUNDERSTANDING, AND OBSCURITY WITH FIRST HAND ENGAGEMENT, SO IN THE WORDS OF JOURNALIST CHRISTOPHER HITCHES “YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THE MEDIAS WORD FOR IT”.

WE KNOW THAT EXPEDITION CLIMBING HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED IN CONTENTIOUS, DISPUTED, AND CONFLICTED PLACES, AND WE SEE OUR TEAMSTERS AS INFORMED AND THINKING INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT. WE SEE OUR CLIMBERS AS ABLE TO ENGAGE AT A REAL LEVEL AND FORM THEIR OWN INSIGHTS, THEN HOPEFULLY CONVEY THEM ONCE BACK HOME AND INJECT A LITTLE FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE INTO THEIR CIRCLES. WE ENGAGE FIRST HAND WITH THE PEOPLE, RELIGIONS, GOVERNMENTS, LOCATIONS AND EVENTS THAT CURRENTS AFFAIRS ARE MADE UP OF, AND LET PEOPLE SEE THERE IS MORE TO IT ALL THAN WHAT THEY PROBABLY KNOW.

UNLIKE MOST COMMERCIAL TRIPS, WE INCLUDE CLIMBERS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, SO THEY CAN SEE BOTH THE WAY EXPEDITIONS WORK AND WHERE THEY FIT INTO A PLACE. WE MAINTAIN AS LITTLE BUFFER AS POSSIBLE BETWEEN US AND THE WORLD WE MOVE IN, SO THE INTERFACE IS REAL AND THE THINGS LEARNED ARE IMMEDIATE. WE DO THIS SO THEY CAN LOOK AT HOW THE ENTIRE SECTOR OPERATES, AND UNDERSTAND FIRST HAND THAT RATHER THAN DAMAGE HIGH ALTITUDE ENVIRONMENTS WE CAN BE THE ONES DEFENDING THEM.

BY THEIR NATURE, OUR TRIPS ARE IN PLACES GOING THROUGH GREAT CHANGE, USUALLY HAVING BEEN AT THE CENTER OF WORLD EVENTS FOR CENTURIES. THESE ARE NOT SYNTHETIC TOURIST LANDSCAPES MAINTAINED FOR OUR ACCESS, BUT ARE RAW AND AUTHENTIC AND EXIST FOR THEIR OWN SAKE, OFTEN BY PROCESSES UNKNOWN TO THOSE FROM OUTSIDE.

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CARTOGRAPHY

SATELLITE IMAGES ONLY TELL A SMALL PART OF THE STORY, AND WHAT’S ON THE GROUND CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT, IF NOT IRRELEVANT TO THE NEEDS OF CLIMBERS. UNLIKE REGULAR MAPPING THAT COVERS PRIMARY FEATURES IN 2 DIMENSIONS, WE MAP WITH A CLIMBERS EYE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BEING IN THE APPROACH VALLEYS, TO MATCH UP WHAT’S OUT THERE WITH HOW IT CAN BE GOT TO.

ALEX HAS ALREADY MAPPED MORE OF EASTERN TIBET FROM ACTUAL LINES OF SIGHT AND APPROACH THAN ANYONE IN HISTORY, LOGGING AND LOCATING HUNDREDS OF PEAKS IN A WAY USEFUL TO CLIMBERS. UNLIKE SOME WHO HAVE SIMPLY DONE WHAT ANY SATELLITE IMAGE CAN SHOW, THIS SORT OF MAPPING SHOWS THINGS IN CONTEXT AND RELATION TO THE SURROUNDS, AND PROVIDES DETAILS UNOBSERVABLE IN ANY OTHER WAY.

ALL OUR TRIPS USE THIS DATA SOURCE FOR PLANNING, AND INCORPORATE FURTHER MAPPING IN THE TRIP ITSELF TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THESE MOSTLY UNEXPLORED AREAS. WE REGULARLY RUN TRIPS TO PLACES OFF THE EDGE OF DOCUMENTED AREAS, FUELED BY WHAT WE CAN SEE ON THE EDGES OF PREVIOUS MAPPING WORK.

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HUMAN PERFORMANCE

THE WELL KNOWN ALPINE AREAS OF THE WORLD ARE TODAY OFTEN SO COMMERCIALIZED THAT THE DEFINITIONS AND DETERMINANTS OF WHAT ‘ALPINISM’ MEANS HAVE BECOME SKEWED AND CORRUPTED. WHERE ONCE IT WAS SIMPLY ABOUT BEING UNSUPPORTED ON A MOUNTAIN, TODAY WHAT CONSTITUTES SUPPORT HAS BECOME BLURRED AND CONTESTED.

BY CLIMBING IN REMOTE AREAS WITH ZERO CLIMBING OR TORUISIM INDUSTRY AROUND THEM, WE RESET THE PARAMATERS FOR ALPINISM VERY CLOSE BACK TO THEIR DEFINITIVE FORM; THINGS LIKE HELICOPTER ACCESS, BOTTLED OXYGEN, ROUTE FIXING, GUIDING, HIGH ALTITUDE PORTERING, AND INDUSTRIAL LOGISTICS ARE NOT PRESENT – AND NEVER HAVE BEEN – SO THE ATTRIBUTES OF UNADULTERATED ALPINISM ARE ALLOWED TO SHINE THROUGH.

WE ALLOW CLIMBERS TO GET A GLIMPSE OF THE WAY GREAT ASCENTS OF THE PAST WERE DONE, WHEN SELF-SUFFICIENCY WAS HIGH, NOT EVERYTHING ABOUT A PLACE WAS KNOWN, THERE WAS NO GUIDEBOOK TO FOLLOW AND RESPONSIBILITY WAS PERSONAL. WE PUT CLIMBERS AT THE CENTER OF THE PROCESS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, SO WHATEVER THE OUTCOME IT IS THEIRS TO OWN. TO SUCCEED ON ONE OF OUR TRIPS IS TO HAVE DONE SO YOURSELF, WITH NO HIDDEN MECHANISMS OR PRE-RIGGED ROUTES DOING THE HARD WORK FOR YOU.

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RESEARCH

MOST PLACES WE VISIT ARE BARELY DOCUMENTED, EITHER BY SCANT EXPERIENCE OR VICARIOUSLY USING SECONDARY DATA SUCH AS SATELLITES AND MODELLING. WE CLIMB IN PLACES FULL OF STRANGE TOPOGRAPHY, RARE AND ENDANGERED ANIMALS, GLACIERS THAT ARE CHANGING, UNRECORDED LANGUAGES, ARCHEOLOGICAL INTEREST, AND BIZARRE MICROCLIMATES, AND CONSIDER OUR PRESENCE THERE TO COME WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RECORDING IT.

OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE SUPPORTED ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO RESEARCH INTO SNOW LEOPARDS AND WILD CAMELS, AS WELL AS DOCUMENTED WILD WOLVES AND OTTERS, TRACKED NOMADS AND SMUGGLERS, FOUND ABANDONED MONASTERIES AND MUMMIES, VERIFIED TOPOGRAPHICAL DATA, AND BEEN TO THE SOURCES OF OBSCURE RIVERS. ALL THIS GETS RECORDED AND GOES TOWARDS BETTER UNDERSTANDING PLACES THAT FOR MOST OF HISTORY WERE BLANKS ON THE MAP, WHERE SO MUCH ALREADY DISAPPEARED BEFORE IT WAS EVER KNOWN.

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POLITICS

WE DON’T CLIMB WITH ANY POLITICAL AGENDA, BUT WE KNOW THAT TO A DEGREE ONE IS EVER-PRESENT. TIBET, XINJIANG, IRAN, AND SIMPLY CHINA ARE ALL PILLARS OF WORLD POLITICAL CONCERN, BUT ALMOST ALWAYS DISCUSSED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE SPENT NO REAL TIME THEIR. CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, TWO MONTHS IN WESTERN HOTEL CHAINS AND ON A REMOTE GLACIER DOES NOT INFORM YOU ABOUT THE COMPLEX POLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF A COUNTRY WITH MILLENIA OF RECORDED HISTORY, NOR DOES ONLY TALKING TO THOSE INVOLVED IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY WHO HAVE LEARNED ENGLISH.

CENTRAL TO OUR TRIPS IS THE POLITICS OF WORKING WITH LARGE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES WHO ISSUE PERMITS AND VISAS, WHICH IN CHINA ARE ALL BRANCHES OF THE SAME CENTRALIZED SYSTEM. WE TALK OPENLY AND HONESTLY WITH THESE AUTHORITIES, AND COME WITH A LONG TERM PLAN BACKED WITH EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH, AND SEE THE WAY THAT WHEN DONE WITH INTEGRITY GREAT THINGS CAN HAPPEN.

WE INVITE THE CONVERSATION, SO LONG AS IT IS OPEN-MINDED, INFORMED, WITHOUT AN AGENDA, AND SELF-REFERENTIAL. WE INVITE PEOPLE TO COME TO THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS WHEN IT IS BASED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND THE COURAGE TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES. THESE TRIPS ARE NOT THE PLACE FOR MISPLACED IDEOLOGIES SYNTHESIZED ELSEWHERE, SIMPLY BECAUSE NO POLITICS STANDS UP TO THE COLD LIGHT OF DIRECT EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO SIT WITH LOCAL PEOPLE IN THE PLACES ALLUDED TO IN THE MEDIA, AND HAVE THE DISCUSSIONS WHEN PEOPLE ARE PRESENT TO REPRESENT THEIR OWN SIDE.

IN THE PLACES WE VISIT, POLITICS IS ALIVE AND HAPPENING NOW, HISTORY IS BEING MADE, AND RATHER THAN WATCHING FROM AFAR WE ARE THERE PART OF IT. OBVIOUSLY CLIMBING MOUNTAINS IS NOT CENTRAL TO WORLD AFFAIRS, BUT THE LOCATIONS OF THOSE MOUNTAINS USUALLY ARE.

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HUMANITY

PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS INTERACT AT A HEALTHY LEVEL, AND WE TRY TO CHANGE THAT. MOST PLACES WE GO SEE FEW OUTSIDERS, AND FOR MANY LOCALS WE ARE THE FIRST OUTSIDERS THEY WILL MEET, THOUGH DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MEDIA MOST WILL HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ALREADY FORMED.

WE KNOW WE ARE AMBASSADORS OF CERTAIN CULTURES WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, SO WE ENDEAVOR TO ENGAGE AND INTERACT KNOWING WE LEAVE A WAKE BEHIND US. WE ALSO KNOW WE DO NOT REPRESENT COMMERCIAL TOURISM OR FOREIGN MEDIA, SO WE AIM TO MEET LOCALS IN WAYS THAT FAIRLY REPRESENT US BOTH.

BEING SO FAR OFF THE TOURIST TRAIL MEANS WE HAVE LITTLE TO ZERO BUFFER, AND LOCALS DON’T SEE US AS A SOURCE OF INCOME OR RISK. DESPITE THEIR REMOTENESS FROM MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION, MANY OF THESE PLACES HAVE LONG HISTORIES OF TRAVELLERS AND TRADE, WITH A PLACE FOR OUTSIDERS VERY DIFFERENT TO WHAT MODERN TOURISM HAS INSTILLED. THIS MEANS WE MEET PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN TERMS, IN THE CARAVANSERAIS, BAZAARS, VALLEYS, KITCHENS AND INNS, MAKING EVERY EFFORT TO AVOID HOTEL CHAINS, FRANCHISE RESTAURANTS, AND PLACES MENTIONED IN GUIDEBOOKS. THIS RESULTS IN ENGAGEMENTS NOT SOLELY BASED ON MONEY OR NOVELTY, WHERE WE EXPERIENCE THE WAY PLACES WORK AS LIVING HUMAN WORLDS.

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SUSTAINABILITY

WE KNOW THE HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING INDUSTRY HAS POLLUTED, DEGRADED, AND DAMAGED THE GREATEST ALPINE AREAS ON EARTH, AND RATHER THAN COMPLAIN ABOUT IT WE SET THE EXAMPLE OF AN ALTERNATIVE. WE KNOW IT’S TOO LATE NOW TO CHANGE THINGS ELSEWHERE, SO WE DEFEND THE PLACES WE CAN SO AT LEAST SOMETHING IS BEING DONE.

LIKE OUR POLITICAL STANCE, WE HAVE NO AGENDA, ONLY TO DO BETTER THAN THOSE WHO ARE CORRUPTED BY DESTRUCTIVE MOTIVATIONS. WE KNOW MUCH OF THE ‘SUSTAINABILITY COMPLEX’ IS BULLSHIT, SO WE USE OUR OWN SOLUTIONS. AND SEE OURSELVES AS THE EXAMPLE OF HOW THINGS CAN BE DONE BETTER, USING THINGS LIKE BURNING MAN AS A BLUEPRINT.

THERE IS NO REASON FOR EXPEDITIONS TO BE UNSUSTAINABLE, SO LONG AS THEY REMAIN ABOUT THE BASICS OF EXPLORATION, ALPINISM, AND HUMANITY. IT IS CLEAR THAT PLACES LIKE HIGH ALTITUDE MOUNTAINS CAN ONLY SUPPORT SMALL NUMBERS OF PEOPLE, UNLESS THEY ARE FUNDAMENTALLY INVADED AT AN INDUSTRIAL LEVEL THAT IS AVOIDABLE WHEN BETTER OPTIONS ARE DEVELOPED. IT SURPRISES MANY THAT CHINA IS SO PROGRESSIVE WITH PROTECTING IT’S MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS, WHEN THEIR TRACK RECORD FOR OTHER AREAS HAS NOT BEEN GREAT IN THE RACE TO MODERNIZE A HUGE POPULATION. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MOUNTAINS THEY ARE WILLING TO ENGAGE THE INPUT OF CLIMBERS.

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OUR AIM IS TO COME AWAY FROM OUR EXPEDITIONS NOT JUST PERSONALLY BETTER INFORMED, BUT AS AGENTS OF CHANGE TO HAVE REAL AFFECT ON THE WORLD. WE KNOW WE CAN AFFECT THE WAYS THINGS HAPPEN ON THE GROUND WHERE WE CLIMB, BUT WE ALSO KNOW WE CAN AFFECT THINGS BACK HOME WHERE QUALITY INFORMATION IS USUALLY ABSENT. THE TOPOGRAPHIC WORLD MAY NOT BE NEARLY AS UNKNOWN AS IT WAS IN THE ERA OF SHIPTON, BUT THE HUMAN WORLD IS EVERY BIT JUST AS CONFLICTED AND MISCONTRUED AS IT EVER HAS BEEN, AND JUST LIKE IN THE ERAS OF MARCO POLO, THE SILK ROAD, SHIPTON, YOUNGHUSBAND, AND THE COLD WAR CLIMBERS, IT IS THOSE WITH THE COURAGE TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES THAT ARE THE SOLUTION.