THE TRIPS YOU COULD BE DOING

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN CLIMBERS LOOKED AT MAPS AND OBSCURE PHOTOS, SAW SOMETHING THEY LIKED, THEN LINED UP AN EXPEDITION BEHIND IT. THE VERY UNKNOWNESS OF AN OBJECTIVE WAS REASON TO DO IT, THE URGE TO GO WHERE THERE WAS NOTHING DOCUMENTED, AND TRY AND DO SOMETHING NEW.

FROM THIS NEW FORMS OF CLIMBING WERE INVENTED, TO TAKE ON NEW ROUTESAND NEW IDEAS ABOUT WHAT CLIMBING COULD ACHEIVE. A FAR CRY FROM BEING LIMITED BY WHAT IT SAID ON THE BOX, STUFF WAS MADE, TESTED AND PUSHED WITH A DIY ATTITUDE THAT WAS SIMPLY HOW YOU GOT THINGS DONE. IF PEOPLE WAITED FOR MAMMUT OF THE NORTH FACE TO MAKE THE GEAR FOR THEM NOTHING WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN DONE.

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EVEN THOUGH THE WORLD IS MORE OPEN NOW THAN IT EVER HAS BEEN (POST COVID OF COURSE), NEVER HAS ‘EXPEDITION’ CLIMBING BEEN SO UN-EXPEDITIONARY. THE TERM NOW SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN HIJACKED TO MEAN ‘HAVING TO WALK’ OR SOMETHING, USUALLY HAVING NOTHING TO DO WITH THINGS LIKE EXPLORATION OR NEW IDEAS.

GREAT TRIPS STILL HAPPEN OF COURSE, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE DEFINING ELEMENT OF ‘BIG’ CLIMBING ANY MORE, WITH ONLY A FEW TRIPS TRICKLING THROUGH THAT REALLY GO ANYWHERE NEW AND DO SOMETHING INNOVATIVE. CLIMBERS WALK PAST OR FLY OVER HUGE SWATHES OF GREAT OBJECTIVES, CHOOSING INSTEAD TO STAND IN LINE WITH THEIR COOKIE CUTTER GEAR ON ROUTES QUITE LITERALLY GROANING UNDER THE WEIGHT. CLIMBERS ACCEPT THE FILTH, THE PRODUCTION-LINE LOGISTICS, THE INDUSTRIAL ROLLOUTS AND WAITING, WHEN THE NEXT VALLEY OVER MAY BE SOMETHING BETTER, MORE WORTHY AND WITHOUT THE RISKS THAT COME WITH CROWDS.

NOTORIOUS EXAMPLES ARE THE TRADE-ROUTE PEAKS, THAT HAVE COMMERCIALLY ESTABLISHED ROUTES WHERE PEOPLE GET THEIR TICKLISTS FILLED IN. OFTEN DESPITE BETTER AND SAFER ROUTES EXISTING ON THE SAME PEAK, THE THE LINES GO TO THE ONES EASIEST TO COMMERCIALLY RUN, NOT THAT HAVE THE BEST CLIMBING EXPERIENCE. CESEN ROUTE ANYONE???

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BEYOND THE BIG TICKET SAFARI PEAKS, THINGS GET EVEN MORE OBSCURED, AND A QUICK GLANCE AT GOOGLE EARTH WILL SHOW YOU ALL THAT IS OUT THERE, AND HOW LITTLE IS VENTURED TO, BASICALLY BEING WHAT INDUSTRY CAN DO FOR GOOD OVERHEADS. EVEN CLMBERS WITH THE CAPACITY FOR IT RARELY LOOK FAR FROM THE MENU, RARER STILL TO SEE NEW STYLES IN PLACES MORE WITHOUT WELL ESTABLISHED ACCESS.

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BUT IT’S ALL OUT THERE. THE FUTURE OF CLIMBING IS AS INNOVATIVE AND VANGUARD AS WE WANT TO MAKE IT. THE MISTAKE IS THINKING THE INDUSTRY AS IT IS WILL BE THE THING TO DO IT. INTERESTING STUFF HAS NEVER BEEN THE ENTERPRISE OF TOURISM AND COMPANIES ALREADY INVESTED IN SECURE PROFITS, INSTEAD IT’S BEEN UP TO THOSE ON THE FRINGES WHO HAVE THE WHEREWITHALL TRY.

WHAT IS OUT THERE IS ASTONISHING, WITH OBJECTIVES TO FIT EVERY CONCEPT OF CLIMBING, FROM RETHINKING 8000m ASCENTS AND BIG WALLS, TO 5000 & 6000m STUFF DONE IN WINTER AND THE ENTIRE REWORKING OF HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING FREE OF THE DEEPLY EMBEDDED MENTALITIES HELD BY INDUSTRY.

RIGHT NOW THE AVERAGE CLIMBER AHS AT THEIR DISPOSAL A LEVEL OF INFORMATION AND RESOURCES UNDREAMT OF A GENERATION AGO, WITH EQUIPMENT, TRAINING, ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY MAKING INNOVATION OPEN TO EVERYONE. THINGS HAVE NEVER BEEN EASIER TO PULL TOGETHER, NOR HAVE THEY BEEN RELATIVELY CHEAPER, WITH EVERYTHING FROM FLIGHTS TO BOOTS AND LOGISTICS BENEFITTING FROM INCREASED COMPETITION. POSSIBILITIES ABOUND, TO SYNCRETIZE, CROSS-POLLINATE AND HYBRIDIZE TO MATCH UP TO CLIMBING THAT HAS NEVER BEFORE BEEN THOUGHT OF, WITH NEW METHODS IN NEW PLACES AT NEW LATTITUDES WITH NEW OBJECTIVES.

IDEAS FOR TRIPS ARE AS LIMITED AS YOUR ABILITY TO LOOK OFF CENTER, AND LOOK AT WHAT’S BEING DONE AND HOW TO IMPROVE ON IT. EVERYTHING CAN TAKEN AND THE ENVELOPES PUSHED IN VARIOUS WAYS, TO MOVE THE SPORT FORWARD ONE TRIP AT A TIME. HERE’S JUST A FEW

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HIGH ALTITUDE IN WINTER

ALL 8000m PEAKS MAY NOW HAVE BEEN DONE IN WINTER, BUT THE PARADIGM IS STILL IN IT’S INFANCY, WITH WINTER CONDITIONS OPENING UP OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE NOT PRESENT IN THE NORMAL SEASONS. BEYOND SIMPLY THE CONCEPT OF WINTER BEING HARD, THERE IS HUGE SCOPE TO DO THINGS LIKE WINTER NORTH FACES AND MORE DIRECT LINES, TAKING IDEAS FROM THE ALPS.

GOOD 8000m CLIMBING ALWAYS COMES FROM GOOD 5000,6000 AND 7000m CLIMBING, AND THIS IS WHERE FUTURISTIC WINTER ASCENTS WILL BE GENERATED. AS ALWAYS, THE METHODS, STYLES, GEAR AND OBJECTIVES WILL BE WORKED OUT BY PROGRESSION, TILL THE POINT WHERE RATHER THAN JUST REPEAT IN-SEASON ROUTES, NEW ROUTES THAT ONLY WINTER OFFERS WILL BE DONE.

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REMOTE UNSUPPORTED

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT ‘REMOTE’ CAN MEAN UNTIL YOU VISIT SOMEWHERE LIKE LIKE TIBET OR XINJIANG, OR BEYOND THAT EVEN, THE HUGE OVERLAPPING AREA THAT NO ONE QUITE KNOWS HOW TO DEFINE. AWAY FROM THE RELATIVELY THIN EDGE OF THE PLATEAU WHERE 99% OF CLIMBERS GO, THERE ARE PEAKS INTO THE 7000m RANGE THAT ARE HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM ANY HUMAN PRESENCE.

IF THESE MASSIFS WERE CLOSER TO HUMANS THEY WOULD BE FAMOUS, WITH MOST HAVING SEEN NO MORE THAN ONE OR TWO ASCENTS, USUALLY DECADES AGO WHEN THE CLIMBING WORLD WAS FUELLED MORE BY DISCOVERY. AS TIMES HAVE EVOLVED THEY HAVE DROPPED OFF THE RADAR, AND YET THE RESOURCES TO ACTUALLY GET TO THEM HAVE IMPROVED, WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SMALL TEAMS TO GET TO THEM AND DO NEW ASCENTS. SATELLITE DATA, LIGHTER EQUIPMENT, DIFFERENT WAYS TO CROSS TERRAIN, ALL CONVERGE TO MAKE WHAT ARE THE REMOTEST HIGH ALTITUDE PEAKS ON EARTH NOW CLIMBABLE.

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NORTHERN NORTH SIDES

PULL BACK AND YOU REALIZE THAT ALMOST ALL HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING HAS IGNORED NORTH SIDES, SOMETHING THAT WHEN IT WAS REALIZED IN THE ALPS LEAD TO A REVOLUTION IN CLIMBING. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED IT, NORTH SIDES OF BIG PEAKS ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BEASTS, FEELING LIKE DIFFERENT MOUNTAINS DUE TO THE DIFFERENCES IN TOPOGRAPHY AND OFTEN ACCESS. PUSH THE LATITUDE TOO AND THAT DIFFERENTIAL ONLY INCREASES, AND YOU HAVE A PARADIGM FOR CLIMBING THAT IS IT’S OWN PURSUIT.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL WEATHER DATA OF NORTH SIDES, NORTH OF THE HIMALAYA, AT MORE NORTHERLY LATITUDES DEMONSTRATES THAT THE CLIMATES DICTATE A DIFFERENT WAY TO CLIMB, AS MUCH DEFINED BY DIFFERENCES IN THINGS LIKE FREEZE LEVELS TO THE WAY PEAKS ARE ACCESSED. TO THE CLIMBER THIS MEANS DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT, TECHNIQUES, FOOD AND STRATEGIES, TO MAKE AN UNYET STILL REALIZED DISCIPLINE OF HIMALAYAN NORTH SIDE CLIMBING.

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HIGH ALTITUDE BIG WALLS

WE ALL SAW MERU, BUT HOW MANY CLIMBERS TOOK THAT AS A METHOD RATHER THAN A STORY.

FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF CLIMBING, AN BIG WALL ON A HIGH PEAK HAS HAD A BLINDSPOT OVER IT, USUALLY DISREGARDED AS BEING TOO HARD OR TOO COMPLEX DESPITE OFTEN BEING A MAJOR FEATURE. OCCASIONAL VISIONARIES OR HIGHLY ORGANIZED TEAMS OF BIG WALLERS HAVE RISEN TO THE IDEA TO COMBINE BIG PEAK ALPINISM AND BIG WALL STYLES, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE WITH THE BIG WALL SKILLSET ARE AS FUNNELLED INTO YOSEMITE AS THE PUNTERS ARE TO EVEREST.

THERE IS A UNIVERSE OF BIG WALLS OUT THERE AT ALTITUDE, WITH STUFF RIVALING YOSEMITE BUT ON TOP OF REMOTE PEAKS. ASTHETICALLY THESE CAN BE THE MOST ELEGANT LINES, BY THE MOST DEFINING FEATURE OF A PEAK, WITH THE MOST INTERESTING MEHODS THAT COMBINE WALLS, MOUNTAINEERING AND ICE. TODAYS EQUIPMENT PUTS THE LOADS FOR A WALL AT ABOUT HALF OF WHAT IT ONCE WAS, WITH THINGS LIKE PORTALEDGES, HARDWARE AND CLOTHING GETTNG LIGHTER ALL THE TIME. WHAT ONCE WOULD TAKE A TEAM OF PORTERS TO MANHANDLE CAN NOW BE DONE BY TWO OR THREE, THOUGH THE BIGGEST EFFECT IS FELT WITH HAULING AND HOW LONG YOU CAN LIVE ON THE WALL AND STAY WARM.

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FASTER, LIGHTER, HIGHER

THE CORE ELEMENTS OF ALPINISM WILL ALWAYS TAKE THE SPORT FORWARD – SO LONG AS THEY ARE REALLY APPLIED WHICH MEANS BY THE BROADEST STANDARDS. FAST NEEDS TO BE ABOUT MORE THAN SIMPLY RUNNING UP FIXED LINES. LIGHT NEEDS TO INCLUDE ALL LOGISTICS, NOT JUST YOUR OWN PACK. HIGHER NEEDS TO MEAN ROUTE HEIGHT, NOT JUST THE ALTITUDE OF THE SUMMIT.

THESE ARE ALL FANTASTIC THINGS TO PURSUE, AND FIND NEW OBJECTIVES THAT BETTER AND BETTER PRESENT THEM. FAST, LIGHT & HIGH AS A METHOD, RATHER THAN A GOAL, IS A PARADIGM THAT ONCE HAD REAL GRAVITY BUT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN DISSAPPEARED UP IT’S OWN NAVEL AS A GAME OF STATISTICS RATHER THAN ABILITY.

THE HIGH ALTITUDE AREAS OF TIBET AND XINJIANG PRESENT COUNTLESS OBJECTIVE TO APPLY THE FAST, LIGHT & HIGH ETHIC, EXECUTED AS THE WAY OF CLIMBING ITSELF NOT JUST A FASHION ON TOP OF TIRED OLD ROUTES. THESE AREAS HAVE ENTIRE TOPOGRAPHIES THAT SHIFT WHAT FAST, LIGHT & HIGH CAN MEAN, ROLLED OUT ACROSS A PROGRESSION THAT REALLY STARTS TO PUSH WHAT IS POSSIBLE. LIKE COMPARING A MARATHON TO AN ULTRA, THE DEFINITIONS OF THINGS CHANGE WHEN YOU UP THE COMMITTMENT, TO FIND THAT WHAT IS FAST, LIGHT & HIGH ON A TRADEROUTE MEANS NOTHING WHEN YOU GET OUT AWAY FROM THE MOB.

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SERIAL ASCENTS

THE POSSIBILITIES FOR LINK-UPS AND MULTI-PEAK TRIPS SOMEWHERE LIKE TIBET IS UNHEARD OF ELSEWHERE, WHERE ACCESS AND EFFICIENCY MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO RECOVER AND ORGANIZE AT A LEVEL THAT IS PROFOUND. ACCUMULATIVE ASCENT – WHETHER OF PREVIOUSLY CLIMBED OR UNCLIMBED TERRAIN – CAN BE PUSHED INTO HUGE NUMBERS THAT SEEM UNREAL WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW HOW.

TIBET ESPECIALLY IS COVERED IN RANGES THAT HAVE LOTS OF PEAKS ABOVE 5000 & 6000m THAT CAN BE CLIMBED AS A SERIES, EITHER AS SINGLE LONG LINK-UPS, TRAVERSES OR OVER SEASONS ACCORDING TO IDEAS LIKE INCREASING ALTITUDES OR SPEEDS. IT IS ENTIRELY FEASIBLE IN MANY PLACES TO FORMA CENTRAL BASECAMP, AND FROM OUT OF THAT PICK MULTIPLE ROUTES, OR EVEN CYCLE THROUGH TOWNS TO FULL RECOVER, CHERRY PICKING RIGHT ACROSS TIBET.

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SUB-PEAKS

MOST MAJOR PEAKS HAVE SUB-PEAKS, THAT ONCE WERE CONSIDERED HIGH VALUE OBJECTIVES, BUT HAVE FALLEN FROM INTEREST WITH THE CURRENT FIXATION ON SUMMIT-BAGGING. SOME SUB-PEAKS CAN BE SERIOUS OBJECTIVES IN THEIR OWN RIGHTS, AS THE TERMINATION OF ROUTES THAT HAVE NO CONCERN WITH THE MAIN SUMMIT. FAMOUS EXAMPLES ARE THE ‘OTHER’ GASHERBRUMS, THAT SIT JUST BELOW 8000m, BUT THERE ARE DOZENS OF OTHER EXAMPLES THAT ARE PART OF 8000m MASSIFS BUT HAVE NO RECOGNITION.

SUB-PEAKS ARE A WAY TO RETHINK WHAT CLIMBING NEEDS TO BE ABOUT, WHERE ROUTES DON’T NEED TO END AT THE THE HIGHEST POINT. NOT UNLIKE THE WAY THINGS ARE CLIMBED IN THE ALPS, FEATURES CAN WHAT ROUTES ARE ABOUT RATHER THAN UTIMATE PROMINENCE. THE KARAKORAM ESPECIALLY HAS MANY SUB-PEAKS THAT ARE SATTELITES TO MAIN ONES, INCLUDING SUB-PEAKS OF K2 AND THE GASHERBRUMS, THAT HAVE ONLY SINGLE OR EVEN NO KNOWN ASCENTS. TO CLIMB A SUB-PEAK ON SOMETHING LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 WOULD STILL BE A MAJOR MATTER AND STILL WELL ABOVE THE 7000m MARK.

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RIVERS

LIKE WALLS AND NORTH SIDES, RIVERS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF ANY MOUNTAIN THAT ARE OFTEN IGNORED, AND YET SO OFTEN HOLD THE KEYS TO THEIR FINEST FEATURES, THE CROSSING OF THE SHAKSGAM BEING MAYBE THE BEST EXAMPLE.

RIVERS DEFINE HOW A PEAK IS ACCESSED, AND NOW THAT THE EVOLUTION IN THINGS LIKE PACKRAFTS HAS HIT MOMENTUM, THE WAY THEY ARE THOUGHT ABOUT IS CHANGING. DOZENS OF FIRST ASCENTS AWAIT IN PLACES LIKE THE KUNLUN AND NORTHERN TIBET THAT CAN ALSO INVOLVE FIRST DESCENTS, OF RIVERS THAT ALSO HAVE LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT THEM. DUE TO CHANGES IN GLACIERS, MANY OF THESE RIVERS HAVE ALTERED THEIR DYNAMICS, MAKING PUT IN LOCATIONS MUCH HIGHER AND CHANGING THE PLACES WHERE THESE RIVERS TERMINATE.

IN SOME PLACES SMALL BOATS CAN FORM INTEGRAL ELEMENTS OF EXPEDITION LOGISTICS, AND BE USED TO CROSS OR TRAVEL ALONG RIVERS WHERE OTHERWISE IT TAKE MUCH MORE INVOLVED PLANS. PLACES THAT ONCE NEEDED CAMELS TO FORGE WIDE RIVERS CAN NOW BE DONE WITH SIGNIFICANTLY SIMPLER METHODS, AND DISTANCES THAT ONCE TOOK DAYS CAN NOW BE DONE IN HALF THAT TIME.

PERHAPS MOST BEGUILING IS THAT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED PACKRAFTS CAN BE USED AS PULKS, WHICH OPENS UP ACCESS INTO RANGES PREVIOUSLY TOO COMPLICATED DUE TO FACTORS LIKE WATER ACCESS, CROSSING FROZEN LAKES, DISTANCES AND MOVING LOADS. PLANS CAN NOW BE MADE THAT RESOLVE MANY OF THESE PROBLEMS NOW THAT THE TECHNOLOGY HAS CAUGHT UP, GOING TO 6000 AND 7000m PEAKS ONCE TOO REMOTE.

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THE NEW 8000m CLIMBING

ALL THE PIECES EXIST FOR A SELF-SUPPORTED TEAM TO ACCESS THE REMOTER SIDE OF AN 8000m PEAK AND CLIMB IT ALPINE STYLE IN VERY SHORT TIME. THE ACCLIMATIZATION IS POSSIBLE, THE LOADS ARE CARRYABLE, THE TIMELINE IS FEASIBLE AND THE EQUIPMENT EXISTS – WHAT’S NEEDED ARE THE CLIMBERS WITH THE MINDSET TO DO IT. THIS WOULD BE A TINY TEAM, CLIMBERS ONLY, APPROACHING MUCH LIKE THEY WOULD A 6000m PEAK, TWEAKED FOR THE EXTRA TIME AND CONDITIONS.

THE ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN PUT INTO MOTION BEFORE BUT STALLED BEFORE THEY COULD BE FULLY COMBINED, FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THAT HAS SEEN ALMOST EXPONENTIAL ADVANCES. THE THINGS THAT CONSPIRED AGAINST THOSE EARLIER ASCENTS WHERE THINGS LIKE ACCESS, WEIGHT AND ACCLIMATIZATION – THINGS MOSTLY LOGISTICAL IN NATURE THAT HAVE COME LIGHTYEARS SINCE.

WE KNOW THAT EVEN A THOUSAND FOLD INCREASE IN COMMERCIAL CLIMBING CONTRIBUTES NOTHING TO THE LEADING EDGE, AND IF ANYTHING SUCKS AWAY FROM IT. THIS THEN MEANS THAT EVOLUTION WILL COME FROM ELEMENTS FROM OUT OF FIELD, CAST INTO NEW PLACES TO EXECUTE THEM, WHICH THE WAY ALL EVOLUTION HAS OCCURRED. PUT ANOTHER WAY; WITHOUT SHIFTING THE NICHE IN WHICH IT HAPPENS, IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW FAST, STRONG OR PRACTICED A THING IS.

8000m OBJECTIVES EXIST THAT ALMOST NO ONE HAS HEARD OF, AS EVERY BIT AS UNKNOWN TODAY AS THEY WERE A GENERATION AGO, PERHAPS EVEN MORE. INSTEAD OF MESSING AROUND NEXT TO THE OVERCROWDED ROUTES ELSEWHERE, THESE ARE THE PLACES FOR THE FUTURE FORMS OF 8000m CLIMBING TO EMERGE, WHERE THE PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRIAL CLIMBING HAVE NEVER BEEN PRESENT.

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EVERY CONCEPT STATED HERE WE HAVE ARCHIVES OF EXAMPLES OF, AND THERE’S PLENTY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM. RATHER THAN DREAM UP CONTRIVED PARAMETERS WE SEE THIS STUFF FROM THE VALLEYS. PULL BACK THE BLINKERS SET BY SOCIAL, PRINT AND STREAMING MEDIA AND SIMPLY LOOK AT MOUNTAINS, AND THE POSSIBILITIES FLOOD THROUGH FASTER THAN IT TAKES TO GET THEM IN ORDER.

OF COURSE, ALL WE DESCRIBE CAN BE SYNCRETIZED FURTHER, AND PUSH THE EVOLUTION OF CLIMBING FASTER STILL, AND WE HAVE RUN TRIPS DOING SUCH THINGS AS UNSUPPORTED BIG WALLS IN WINTER TO NORTH FACES, AND FIRST ASCENTS TO 6000m IN WINTER CLIMBING NON-STOP IN RANGES NEVER BEFORE DOCUMENTED.

IT IT’S WAY, THIS IS CLIMBING, THE CONVERGENCE OF ALL THE BEST ATTRIBUTES OVER THE 150 YEARS OF THE SPORT. THIS IS CLIMBERS TAKING IT ALL BACK FROM THE INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE CHANNELED THINGS INTO CLONES IN THE SAME CLOTHES STANDING IN LINE ALL THE WAY FROM ALASKA AND CALIFORNIA TO PAKISTAN AND NEPAL. THIS IS WHAT DISRUPTS THE MONOTONY AND PEDANTRY OF ASCENTS ONLY FOR SPEED OR BUCKET LISTS OR THE QUIBBLING OVER THE MINUTEA OF DETAILS, REPLACING THE WHOLE SHOW WITH VALUES FOR EXPLORATION, INNOVATION, VISION AND DARING.