COLDER, HIGHER, FASTER: CLIMBING TO COUNTER CLIMATE, INDUSTRY & STYLE

FUNDAMENTALLY THE GREATER RANGES ARE NOT THE PLACES THEY WERE IN THE GREAT ERAS OF EXPEDITION ALPINISM. EVERYONE HAS HEARD BY NOW ABOUT VOLATILE WEATHER IN THE HIMALAYAS AND KARAKORAM AND THE CROWDS STACKING UP IN HAZARDOUS PLACES, AND THOUGH NONE OF THIS IS NEW OTHER THAN HITTING HEADLINES AS MORE CLIMBERS AND INDUSTRY GET MORE PUBLIC ATTENTION, THE PROBLEMS ARE NEVERTHELESS STILL REAL.

INDUSTRIAL CLIMBING RUNS ON A LOOP OF PREDEFINED SEASONS, WHERE LOGISTICS AND WORKERS TRY TO MAINTAIN RELIABILITY IN WHAT IS THE FACE-OFF BETWEEN CLIMATE AND INDUSTRY. MORE PEOPLE CLIMB AT GREATER TEMPO TO PACK INTO LESS STABLE WEATHER WINDOWS, USING MORE RESOURCES AND LEAVING A BIGGER MESS. FEW AREAS HAVE BEEN LEFT UNCORRUPTED BY INDUSTRIAL-SCALE CLIMBING, WITH THOSE THAT HAVE OFTEN BEARING THE BRUNT OF CLIMACTIC CHALLENGES LIKE UNSTABLE GLACIERS, EXTENDED MONSOON PATTERNS AND UNPRECEDENTED TEMPERATURES.

THIS COULD BE SAID ABOUT ALL SORTS OF OTHER INDUSTRIES AS THE FIRST THINGS THAT ARE JETTISONED ARE PRINCIPLES, ASTHETICS AND INTEGRITY, SYMPTOMATIC OF A DINOSAUR INDUSTRY TOO MONOLITHIC TO CHANGE IN THE FACE OF UNPREDICTABILITY. WHILE, EXCELLENT ASCENTS AMONGST ALL THIS STILL HAPPEN AND ARE LOST IN THE WHITE NOISE, THEY ARE STILL SUBJECT TO THE SAME ELEMENTS LIKE WEATHER AND ECONOMICS, FINDING TOO THAT TRIPS RUN TO TRADITIONAL PARAMETERS ARE JUST AS LIKELY TO END IN ACCIDENTS OR GO NOWHERE FROM BAD CONDITIONS.

.

IN A NUTSHELL, CLIMBING NEEDS TO EVOLVE, TO FACE THE NEW FACTORS PRESENT. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE IN OTHER WAYS AS THINGS LIKE GEOPOLITICS, BORDERS AND INDUSTRY CHANGED, AND CLIMBERS LIFTED THEIR COLLECTIVE HORIZON ABOVE WHAT TRADITION SAID WAS THE STANDARD. WHEN LACK OF KNOWLEDGE MEANT BLANKS ON THE MAP CLIMBERS EXPLORED WHAT WAS OUT THERE, AND NO AMOUNT OF CONSPIRACY KEPT CLIMBERS FROM PLACES LIKE THE PAMIR OR MYANMAR. CLIMBERS GOT PAST THE AUTHORITIES AND INTO PLACES LIKE EVEREST AND HINDU KUSH, AND COMMUNISM AND TERORISM COULDN’T STOP ASCENTS IN PLACES LIKE NEPAL AND PAKISTAN.

EACH TIME SMART PEOPLE WITH VISION TOOK NEW AVENUES TO OVERCOME PROBLEMS AND GET AROUND THE LIMITATIONS OF THE DAY, AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT PART OF THOSE PROBLEMS WAS THE CLIMBING ESTABLISHMENT ITSELF. THE SOCIETIES, SOCIAL STRUCTURES, UNIVERSITIES, GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND TOURISM GROUPS HAVE LONG BEEN GUARDIANS OF A STATUS QUO, THAT WAS IN PLACE TO MAINTAIN ITS OWN VALUES NOT ALWAYS THE VALUES OF CLIMBING.

RIGHT NOW THE ISSUE IS CLIMATE CHANGE, AND HOWEVER YOU THINK IT ORIGINATED THE EFFECT ON HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING IS OBSERVABLE. WHETHER THIS IS A FIVE YEAR THING OR A FIVE THOUSAND YEAR THING ISN’T THE POINT – RIGHT NOW THINGS ARE MORE VOLATILE BECAUSE CONDITIONS ARE WARMER.

WE HAVE THREE CHOICES HERE; CONTINUE ON, HOPE FOR THE BEST AND ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES THAT COME WITH MOUNTAINS FALLING APART IN REAL TIME; CHANGE HOW THINGS ARE DONE SO THEY ARE MORE STABLE BUT WHICH INVOLVE SOME HEAVY LIFTING; OR PROCEED WITH BOTH AND SEE THIS AS A DIVISION IN THE SPORT BETWEEN THE DINOSAUR INDUSTRY AND THOSE HAPPY TO LEAVE THE NEST.

NO PRIZES FOR GUESSING WHICH SIDE WE TAKE.

.

BECAUSE WE ARE SOMEWHERE OUT ON THE ‘PUNK’ FRINGES OF THE CLIMBING INDUSTRY, WE ARE LESS AFFECTED BY THE CHANGES THAT STRANGLE THE MAIN INDUSTRY. LIKE OUR TRIPS THEMSELVES, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON OUR CAPACITY TO ADAPT AND INNOVATE, AND FIND IT EASY TO DO THINGS IN TIMES AND PLACES THAT ARE OPTIMAL. BEING SMALL-FOOTPRINT AND SELF-SUPPORTED WE ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF SHIFTING HUGE LOGISTICAL MODELS, AND HAVE THE AGILITY TO SCALE THINGS FROM ICE FALLS IN THE GOBI DESERT TO THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 ACROSS AN AREA THE SIZE OF EUROPE.

WE PRESENT WHAT WE ALWAYS HAVE, WHICH IS TO PUSH INTO THE FUTURE COMBINING THE BEST OF THE WHAT’S GONE BEFORE AND WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW. WE SEE EXPEDITION CLIMBING AS A LIVING, BREATHING THING WITH IT’S BEST DAYS AHEAD OF US, AND THE PROBLEMS OF THE INDUSTRY BEING THE SIGNS IT’S TIME TO SHAKE SHIT UP AND LEAVE IT BEHIND.

CROWDED, COLLAPSING, FILTHY AND MEDIA-SATURATED MOUNTAINS ARE HERE TO STAY, SO WE POSE THE ALTERNATIVE CUT FREE FROM THE EMBEDDED ‘RULES’ AROUND SEASONS, STYLE AND OBJECTIVES.

.

COLDER, HIGHER, FASTER

THIS USED TO BE THE DEFINITION OF THE MOST EXTREME EDGE OF ALPINISM – NOW IT’S THE WAY HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING WILL MOVE FORWARD.

THESE ARE NO LONGER CONTRIVED CONCEPTS TO PUSH IDEAS ABOUT IDEOLOGIES, INSTEAD THEY ARE SIMPLY WAYS TO LOOK AT BIG MOUNTAINS TO SEE THEM AT THEIR MOST CLIMBABLE. WE KNOW NOW THAT THE GEAR, ACCESS AND ABILITY EXISTS TO JUDGE ASCENTS BY VECTORS THAT HAVE NOT ALWAYS ADDED UP THE SAME WAY, BUT NOW THEY DO AND THE VISION SHOULD RISE WITH IT TO KEEP ALPINISM OPEN-ENEDED.

REASSESSED THIS WAY, WHOLE NEW OBJECTIVES EMERGE, THAT DEFY THE IDEA THAT CLIMBING MOUNTAINS HAS BECOME NO MORE THAN SOME ACADEMIC OR TOURIST GAME. NEW THINGS CAN BE DONE THAT HAVE IMPLICATIONS TO EVEN BIGGER THINGS BEYOND THAT, RETURNING THIS STUFF TO BEING A PROCESS INSTEAD OF JUST THE STRING OF STUNTS IT’S FALLEN TO. THESE ARE REAL, TANGIBLE THINGS, NOT STATISTICAL TROPES OR COLLECTIONS OF POINTS AND TROPHIES THAT HAVE TURNED THE SUBJECT INTO POP-JOUNALISM WITH A BASEBALL-LIKE NARRATIVE. THESE SIMPLE THINGS ARE WHAT PEOPLE LIKE MESSNER AND KURTYKA HAVE TALKED ABOUT FOR YEARS BUT WERE LOST IN THE OBSESSION FOR THE SAFARI VERSION.

.

COLDER

VOLATILE CONDITIONS DURING THE TRADITIONAL SEASONS MEANS SHIFTING THINGS TO WHEN IT’S COLDER AND TRADING OFF THE COLD FOR SAFETY. THIS DOES NOT MEAN FULL WINTER, BUT RATHER A 5th SEASON OR ‘PROTO WINTER’ THAT IGNORES ALL THE PEDANTRY AROUND DATES AND SIMPLY CLIMBS AT THE BEST TIME.

THIS SEASON SHOULDN’T BE LOOKED AT THE WAY WINTER HIGH ALTITUDE ASCENTS ARE, WHICH IS ALL ABOUT PUSHING DIFFICULTY AS A HUMAN ENDEAVOR. IN THIS CASE THE PARADIGM IS NOT SO CONTRIVED

THESE DAYS EQUIPMENT FOR EXTREME COLD HAS EVOLVED ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE TO WHAT IT WAS JUST A DECADE AGO, PUSHING THE ENVELOPE OF WEIGHT, PERFORMANCE AND STRENGTH (BUT OF COURSE NOT COST…). EVERYTHING FROM BATTERIES THAT LAST LONGER TO TENTS THAT WITHSTAND GREATER FORCES AND INSULATION THAT RETAINS MORE HEAT COLLECTIVELY MEANS BEING ABLE TO PERFORM IN MORE EXTREME CONDITIONS WITH LESS LOAD.

.

HIGHER

IN THIS CASE THIS MEANS LATITUDES, BUT CAN BE A MATTER OF DEGREE, AS ONLY SWITCHING SIDES OF THE HIMALAYAN DIVIDE CAN BE ENOUGH TO HAVE A CRITICAL SHIFT IN CLIMATE. HIGHER LATITUDES ESCAPE THE EXPANDING REACH OF THE MONSOONS THAT AFFECT BOTH WEATHER AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND IN CASES LIKE K2, BEING JUST THE OTHERSIDE OF THE RIDGE MEANS A BIG DROP IN UV AND RADIENT EXPOSURE.

THE HIGHER LATITUDES IN MOST CASES GO HAND IN HAND WITH HAVING THE TOPOGRAPHICAL BASE ALSO HIGHER, AS IN THE TIBETAN PLATEAU OR HIGH DESERT OF XINJIANG. THIS MEANS LESS STEEP RUN OFF, AS CAN BE OBSERVED IN THE WAY RIVERS ARE LESS DRAMATIC THAN THOSE SOUTH OF THE DIVIDE, WHICH MEANS LESS FLOOD DAMAGE BUT ALSO MORE STABLE GLACIATION.

THE HIGHER THE LATITUDE THE LOWER THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, SO THE SOONER TEMPERATURES STABILIZE AND FREEZING ALTITUDES DROP TO AROUND BASECAMP LEVEL. WHILST THIS WAS ONCE SEEN AS SOMETHING TO AVOID IT NOW APPEARS AS STABILITY, AND SOMETHING THE PREPARED TEAM CAN CAPITALIZE ON WITH CURRENT RESOURCES.

.

FASTER

FAST & LIGHT CLIMBING IS ONE THING THAT’S WELL ESTABLISHED, BUT FASTER OVERALL TIMELINES – WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE STANDARDS OF ALPINISM – IS STILL EMBRYONIC. WHILST HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINISM HAS MADE GREAT GAINS AT THE PERFORMANCE END OF THE ITINERARY, LITTLE HAS CHANGED IN THE FRONT END OF

AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE WITH NORMOBARIC TECHNOLOGY TO ‘PREACCLIMATE’ BUT THIS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE LITTLE DIRECT EFFECT ON THE CLIMBING AS IT IS A PSEUDO-EFFECT MORE RELATED TO LOGISTICS. YES, IT INCREASES THRESHOLD OF TOLERANCE FOR REDUCED OXYGEN UPTAKE, BUT AS THIS ISN’T THE PROBLEM (REDUCED PRESSURE IS) IT ONLY HELPS WITH THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE AT THEIR LOWEST DEGREE, ie THE LOW EXERTION RATE OF THE APPROACH.

REAL EFFECT IS MADE BY MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE TOTAL ADAPTION, WHICH BOILS DOWN TO ADAPTING TO REAL ALTITUDE WITH MINIMAL CONDITION LOST IN THE EFFORT.

OPTIMAL ACCLIMATION THIS WAY, COMBINED WITH EFFICIENT TRANSITIONING TO THE MOUNTAIN THAT IN ITS BEST FORM SERVES AS A RECOVERY PHASE, MEANS REVERSING THE TIME OUT THERE FROM THE RATIO OF 1:4 CLIMBING TO OTHER STUFF. THIS IS THE REALIZATION OF WHAT RALF DUJMOVITZ STATES AS ‘ARRIVE AND GET CLIMBING’, WORKED IN A WAY EVEN HE DIDN’T KNOW WAS POSSIBLE.

THIS SORT OF FAST NEEDS SPECIFIC THINGS PRESENT THAT ARE NOT FOUND EVERYWHERE. IN THEIR BROADEST CATAGORIES THEY ARE EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE TO ABOVE 5000m TO ACCLIMATE COMFORTABLY AND FULLY, EFFICIENT TRANSPORT TO GET FROM THERE TO THE MOUNTAIN AND LOGISTICS & RESOURCES THAT ARE HIGH PERFORMANCE IN THE COLD CONDITIONS.

THIS MEANS VERY LITTLE TIME STEEPING AWAY IN A BASECAMP, HAVING DONE ALL THE STUFF THAT USED TO BE DONE THERE ELSEWHERE LIKE ACCLIMATION. THIS IN TURN MEANS NOT NEEDING A BC IN TRADITIONAL TERMS, REPLACING IT WITH SOMETHING FAR LIGHTER AND PLACED FAR HIGHER, THAT WON’T BE INHABITED VERY LONG. THIS BREAKS A MAJOR PART OF THE EXPEDITION FORMAT, WHERE CLIMBERS USUALLY SPEND AT LEAST TWO THIRDS OF THEIR TIME, AND THROWS THE FOCUS BACK ON THE ACTUAL CLIMBING.

.

COMBINED

THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE HERE IS TO PUT ALL THESE THINGS TOGETHER AND TAKE THEM TO THE HIGHEST PEAKS ON EARTH, MEANING PREACCLIMATED ASCENTS OF 8000m PEAKS WHEN THEY ARE IN THEIR MOST STABLE CONDITION.

THIS IS NO MINOR THING, AS MOST PEAKS ARE CLIMBED IN WELL ESTABLISHED ‘SEASONS’, SO DOING THIS UPSETS AN INDUSTRY BASED ON MASS LOGISTICS, SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT AND LONG TERM PLANNING. NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY WITH THESE IDEAS, BUT HEY, LOOK WHAT THE CONSEQIENCES HAVE BEEN. WE DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT.

THE SHIFTS HERE WILL TAKE YEARS TO GATHER MOMENTUM, AS THE WHEELS GRIND INTO GEAR AND THE GAPS ARE FILLED IN. THINGS NEED TO BE RETHOUGHT AND OLD IDEAS LET GO, AND THE CARROT ON THE STICK NEEDS TO CHANGE FROM THE SAFARI-MENTALITY IT HAS BECOME. THIS IS A DECENT LIFES WORK, RETOOLING WHAT HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING CAN BE, AND IT INVOLVES ACKNOWLEDGING MISTAKES AND EXPERIMENTING, AND TAKING RISKS AWAY FROM JUST THE CLIMBING.

WHAT AWAITS THE CLIMBER WHO TAKES THIS PERSPECTIVE IS BEING A PART OF THE FUTURE, WHERE ASCENTS DEEMED TO UNREALISTIC TODAY WILL GRADUALLY BE PIECED TOGETHER. PROGRESS WILL NOT BE IN THE FORM OF MORE O2, MORE HELICOPTERS, MORE GUIDES AND MORE MONEY, BUT WILL COME AS MORE DEMANDING CLIMBING IN CONDITIONS WE THINK NOW ARE IMPOSSIBLE.

.