WINTER EXPEDITIONS

AS OUR 8000m EXPEDITIONS TO G1, BROAD PEAK AND K2 PICK UP MOMENTUM, TWO QUESTIONS KEEPS BEING RAISED – WHY GO IN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER AND DOES THIS MEAN WINTER? IT’S A TIRED OLD ARGUMENT THAT GOES BACK TO THE 70s, AND AS SO OFTEN HAPPENS WE SIT SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF IT; WHAT CONSTITUTES A WINTER ASCENT AT HIGH ALTITUDE?

THE ENTIRE DEBATE REVOLVES AROUND CLIMBING UNDER THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS, SOMETHING THE ELITE POLISH CLIMBERS CAME UP WITH AFTER ALL THE 8000m PEAKS WERE SUMMITED. HARD ROUTES WERE BEING DONE, NORTH SIDE ROUTES WERE BEING DONE, SOLO ROUTES WERE BEING DONE, NON-STOP ROUTES WERE BEING DONE, AND THE LAST ELEMENT TO COMPLETE THE STANDARD OF ALPINE COMMITMENT WAS WINTER. MOST WINTER ASCENTS WERE DONE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF GOOD ALPINE ETHICS (THE WINTER ASCENT OF K2 BEING A GLARING AND EXCEPTION), BUT THINGS SOMETIMES GOT BOGGED DOWN IN THE DEFINITION OF WINTER.

AS A CONTRIVED CONCEPT THIS IS SUBJECT TO MULTIPLE VECTORS, THE MOST SIMPLISTIC OF WHICH ARE THE DATES. REGARDLESS OF THE REAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINISM SUCH AS LATITUDE, ASPECT, LOCALIZED CLIMATE AND LOGISTICS, THE ARMCHAIR ANALYSTS AND STATISTICS JUNKIES FOIST THIS AS ONE OF GREGORIAN DATES, SO THEY CAN FIT THE EFFORTS OF OTHERS NEATLY INTO THEIR HISTORIES AND ALMANACS.

THE STANDARD METRICS ARE;

ASTRONOMICAL WINTER

THIS IS BASED ON THE BIG PICTURE, ie THE POSITION OF PLANET EARTH IN RELATION TO THE STAR WE ORBIT. PUT ANOTHER WAY IT IS THE PERIODS BETWEEN THE SOLSTICES AND EQUINOXS, AND BEING CONCERNED WITH THINGS LIKE ASTRONOMICAL POSITION DOESN’T MUCH BOTHER WITH ON-PLANET CLIMACTICS AS EXPERIENCED. THIS MEASUREMENT DOES HOWEVER CONCERN ITSELF WITH THINGS LIKE SOLAR RADIATION AND DAY LENGTH, WHICH OBVIOUSLY AFFECTS CLIMATE, BUT A KEY DIFFERENCE HERE IS THIS IS BASED ON ELLIPTICAL ORBIT RATHER THAN THE CIRCULAR SPIN OF THE EARTH. BY THIS METHOD WINTER IS DEFINED AS BETWEEN DECEMBER 22 AND MARCH 21 GIVE OR TAKE A DAY OR SO.

METEORLOGICAL WINTER

THIS IS BASED OFF THE MIX OF AXIAL SPIN OF THE PLANET, COMBINED WITH ELLIPTICAL ORBIT AND THENCE THE CORREALIS EFFECT. IN HUMAN TERMS THIS IS CALLED SEASONS. METEORLOGICAL WINTER HAMMERS THIS INTO CALENDER DATES (THAT DIFFERENT CULTURES HAVE DIFFERENT CALENDERS MUST BE HELD IN MIND…), TO DEFINE WINTER AS BASICALLY THE COLDEST TIME OF YEAR, ie CLOSEST TO FREEZING. THIS METHOD DEFINES WINTER AS DECEMBER 1 TO THE LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY.

‘TRUE WINTER’

NEITHER ASTROLOGICAL NOR METEORLOGICAL DEFINITIONS OF WINTER WORK WELL FOR ALPINISM, BOTH HAVING EITHER END AS A GREY AREA. FORGOING DEBATES ABOUT WHAT ‘ASCENT’ ACTUALLY MEANS, THE DATES ALONE ONLY CONVERGE IN AGREEMENT REALLY FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WITH STATISTICAL MODELS USUALLY SHOWING THE COLDEST TIME TO BE THE LAST WEEK OF THE FORMER AND FIRST WEEK OF THE LATTER.

TO SATISFY COMMERCIAL AND STATISTICAL ENDS (THE LEAST NOBEL OF ANY PURSUIT) ASCENTS CLAIMING WINTER FIT THEMSELVES WITHIN THIS JAN/FEB TIMELINE, OFTEN CONFINING THEIR LOGISTICS TO THE WEEKS EITHER SIDE TO ALLAY THE HAND-WRINGING OF THE NUMBER COUNTERS. THIS MEANS KEEPING THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE TO WITHIN EVERY METRIC OF ‘WINTER’ YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, SOMETHING THESE DAYS MEANINGLESSLY ACADEMIC ON ROUTES THAT HAVE HIGHWAYS OF TATTERED JUNK AND DECAYING FIXED ROPES COVERING THEM YEAR-ROUND AND HELICOPTER APPROACHES.

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ACTUALLY LOGICAL

WELL THAT’S THAT, AND THE TONE SO FAR SHOULD TELL YOU HOW MUCH WE HOLD THIS STUFF IN REGARD. YES, WE CARE A LOT ABOUT THINGS LIKE LATITUDE, SOLAR RADIATION, MICROCLIMATES AND TEMPERATURES, BUT NOT FOR THE SAME REASONS THE 8000m SAFARI INDUSTRY DOES.

THE BULK OF OUR EXPEDITIONS HAPPEN DURING SOME DEFINITION OF WINTER, FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN IT IS WHAT WORKS. HAVING NO PART IN THE GREATER INDUSTRY THAT SERVES HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING, WE ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE MASS ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCES THAT SET THE SEASONS JUST AS IT DOES FARMING AND WATER SLIDE PARKS. INDEED WE SEE A SIGN OF A FUTURISTIC POSITION AS ONE THAT STEPS AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL SEASONS, BREAKING THE HOLD THAT THEY HAVE ON THINGS LIKE MANUAL LABOR, SUPPLY & DEMAND AND LOGISTICS.

FOR US, THE COLDER TIME OF YEAR IS SIMPLY THE SAFEST, RUNNING TRIPS IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE CLIMACTIC STABILITY IS OUR PRIME CONCERN. SURE THINGS REQUIRE MORE INSULATION AND BEEFED UP DESIGNS, BUT THEY CAN BE ADDRESSED WITH MONEY AND STRATEGY FAR MORE EFFICABLY THAN THE CLIMATE.

ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORAM AND IN TIBET, WINTER MEANS LOW WATER LEVELS IN THE RIVERS WE CROSS, LESS RADIATION HITTING SLOPES AND ROCK FACES, LONGER HIGH PRESSURE WEATHER SYSTEMS AND ROADS IN BETTER CONDITIONS. THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HIMALAYAN RANGE IS MOSTLY RAIN SHADOW SO APPROACHES ARE DRY AND RELIABLE, AND LOGISTICALLY IS A TIME WHEN HERDERS OFTEN VISIT HIGH PASTURE SO WE CAN WORK IN WITH THEM FOR PORTAGE.

ADMINISTRATIVELY, IN CHINA, THE MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION MAKES NO DISTINCTION WITH PERMITS OVER THE SEASONS, UNLIKE NEPAL AND PAKISTAN WHERE THEY DO. YES, SOME THINGS COST MORE BECAUSE THE WORKLOAD IS BIGGER, BUT A PERMIT IS A PERMIT AND A WAGE A WAGE WHATEVER THE TIME OF YEAR. TO OUR TEAMSTERS THIS MEANS A UNIQUE OVERLAP OF CONDITIONS AND COSTS, LETTING THEM CLIMB IN A SEASON PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE TO MOST. WHERE WINTER HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING IS A HARD PATH TO GET ONTO FOR THOSE WHO WANT IT BECAUSE THE PROGRESSION IS CORRUPTED BY COSTS, NORTH OF THE HIMALAYA IT CAN BE STRUNG TOGETHER, ARGUABLY EVEN BETTER THAN IN-SEASON ASCENTS ON THE SOUTH.

A MAJOR COST LIMITATION ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HIMALAYA FOR WINTER ASCENTS IS THAT OF MAN POWER, SOMETHING ALMOST TOTALLY NEGATED IN TIBET AND XINJIANG WHERE EXPEDITIONS HAVE MINIMAL HUMAN DEPENDENCE. BY FAR THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF MANPOWER IS SUNK INTO PORTAERAGE, SOMETHING ON THE CHINA SIDE THAT IS TAKEN ON 99% BY CAMELS, YAKS AND HORSES. BEING INDIGENOUS THESE ANIMALS COPE WELL WITH WINTER CONDITIONS, AS THE TITLE IMAGE SHOWS, HORSES WORKING EVEN WHEN ENCRUSTED WITH ICE.

WINTER TRIPS TOO HAVE A HANDY FUEL USE EQUATION, THAT GOES AGAINST THE USUAL PARADIGM OF GAS USE AT ALTITUDE. BECAUSE WE ALMOST ALWAYS COOK INSIDE TENTS WHERE THE AMBIENT HEAT BLEED RAISES THE INSIDE TEMPERATURE, WE GET MORE EFFICIENCY FROM THE GAS WE HAUL BOTH IN AMBIENT WARMTH AND AMOUNT USED. THIS IS A RARE ADVANTAGE THAT HELPS BREAK THE WINTER EXPEDITION EQUATION FROM ONE OF SEEMINGLY PROHIBITIVE NUMBERS TO CRUNCH.

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THE WINTER OF WINTERS

WE DON’T REALLY CALL ANY OF OUR TRIPS ‘WINTER’ EXPEDITIONS, TO US IT IS SIMPLY THE BEST SEASON TO CLIMB. YES WE CAN GO IN THE DEPTH OF LATE JANUARY BUT THIS RAISES SERIOUS DISCUSSION, PUSHING CONCEPTS OF WHAT’S REALLY WINTER INTO PLACES THE ELITE POLISH TEAMS EVEN BARELY TOUCHED. THAT THE LAST ATTEMPT FROM THE NORTH SIDE DIDN’T SUMMIT IS A TESTIMONY TO THE TIMES – AFTER ALL NO 8000m PEAK HAD BEEN SUMMITED IN PAKISTAN AT THAT TIME, LET ALONG THE HIGHEST AND MOST NORTHERN. NOTE HERE THAT THE CORRELATIONS OF LATITUDE, AIR PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE CAN MEAN A DIFFERENCE OF 1.0c BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDE OF K2 BEFORE EVEN THE DIFFERENCE IN MICROCLIMATE, WHICH CAN FURTHER EXTRAPOLATE AS TANGIBLE DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY GAS BURNS AND OXYGEN IS UPTAKEN, A DIFFERENTIAL BIGGER THAN EVEN FOUND BETWEEN TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOUNTAINS.

IF BY ‘WINTER ASCENT’ WE RUN WITH THE IDEA OF ALPINISM IN THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS, THEN MID-JANUARY, ON THE NORTH SIDE, AT THE HIGHEST LATITIUDE IS THE HIGHEST CONVERGENCE. BY THIS METRIC THE AIR PRESSURE IN THE KARAKORAM WOULD BE LOWER THAN THAT OF EVEREST WHICH IS TEN DEGREES SOUTH, AND ALSO ONTO LESS PROMINENCE THAN THE NORTHERN FLANKS OF XINJIANG.

THESE ARE VECTORS THE POLISH TEAM KNEW WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED K2 FROM THE NORTH DURING WINTER, AS AN ATTEMPT FOR THE HIGHEST APPLICATION OF EXTREME ALPINISM. THIS COMES ON TOP OF THE STRINGENT ETHICS AROUND CONTAINING LOGISTICS TO ‘TRUE’ WINTER, AS THERE IS VERY LITTLE DEBRIS ON THE NORTH SIDE THAT CAN CONSTITUTE AS IN-SITU ADVANTAGE, AND THE ISOLATED ACCESS MEANS TRIPS ARE TOTALLY SELF-CONTAINED.

THIS SORT OF THING OF COURSE DOESN’T COME FROM NOWHERE, AND IS THE CULMINATION OF MULTIPLE ASCENTS THAT EACH PERFECT WINTER HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING. THE POLES WERE GREAT AT WINTER 8000m CLIMBING BECAUSE THEY WERE GOOD AT WINTER CLIMBING AT EVERY INCREMENT OF ALTITUDE IN WINTER BUILDING UP TO IT, EXPLAINING WHY NO ONE ELSE EVER TRIED K2 FROM THE NORTH AS THEY SIMPLY LACKED THE EXPERIENCE.

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WE FORESEE A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO WINTER HIGH ALTITUDE ASCENTS, BASED ON BOTH THE CHANGES TO CLIMATE ALL ALPINISTS ARE AWARE OF, AND A RISING OF STANDARDS IN HOW AND WHY THESE ASCENTS ARE DONE. THIS MEANS IN THE REAL WORLD ASCENTS DONE AT THE SAFEST TIME, WITH RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE EMERGING.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY AN ALPINIST CAN DO ALL THEIR HIGH ALTITUDE STUFF IN THE COLDEST TIMES, OPTIMIZING ON ACCESS AND CLIMACTIC STABILITY, USING EQUIPMENT THAT IS ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE LIGHTER AND STRONGER THAN A GENERATION BEFORE, IN STYLES CLOSER TO WHAT’S SEEN IN THE RUTH GORGE THAN ANYTHING RESEMBLING WHAT GOES ON IN THE HIMALAYAS.

ARE WE THERE? NO. BUT WE ARE WELL ALONG THE WAY, WITH EVERYTHING LINING UP TO EVENTUALLY ARRIVE. ALL THE VARIABLES OF RESOURCES AND ACCESS ARE NAILED DOWN, EVOLVING FASTER THAN WE CAN KEEP UP WITH – WHAT IS NEEDED IS THE CLIMBERS. THE CLEAR DISTINCTION OF THE VANGUARD ALPINISTS THAT ONCE EXISTED DOESN’T NOW, WHERE EXCELLENCE IN THE DISCIPLINE IS NOW OFTEN CONFUSED WITH EXCELLING IN ONLY ONE SMALL ASPECT SUCH AS SPEED, OFTEN UNDER PERFECT CONDITIONS. THE FUTURE OF WINTER ASCENTS WON’T BE IN METRICS OF TIME AND HYPER-SPECIALIZATION, BUT IN SCOPE OF VISION AND SCALE OF CREATIVITY.