THE 2023/24 ALPINE SEASON IN REVIEW
155 DAYS THAT INCLUDES 9 WEEKS IN REMOTE MOUNTAINS, 7 OF THEM AROUND 5000m, 2 WEEKS MID-WINTER IN THE MONGOLIAN GOBI DESERT, 65 NIGHTS IN TENTS AND BIVYS, 7 +5000m PURE ALPINE OBJECTIVES, 97 ESPRESSOS DRUNK, 4 PAIRS OF CRAMPONS WORN OUT, 4300kms DRIVEN, 22 HOTSPRINGS VISITED, 5 TOE NAILS FALLEN OUT AND 43 NEW ROUTES UP TO 7665m RECCED FOR THE FUTURE.
IT WAS A GOOD SEASON.
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OUR MAIN ALPINE SEASON GOES FROM LATE OCTOBER TO THE END OF MARCH, AND EVERY SEASON HAS AS IT’S PRIMARY AIM THE ASCENT OF NEW TERRAIN IN TIBET, INNER ASIA AND XINJIANG. WE ALWAYS PUT FIRST ASCENT ATTEMPTS AND EXPLORATORY TRIPS FIRST, MAKING SUMMITS NEVER GUARANTEED, BUT COMPARED TO CLIMBING PREVIOUSLY UNCLIMBED AND UNKNOWN TERRAIN A REPEAT SUMMIT FEELS LIKE A HOLLOW SUBSTITUTE.
ALL OF OUR TRIPS HAVE ‘WHAT’S NEXT’ AS A SECOND OBJECTIVE, FUELING THE CURIOSITY AND URGE TO CLIMB AS A PROGRESSION SO THAT TODAYS ASCENT BUILDS THE FOUNDATION FOR TOMORROWS ONE. WE DON’T DEAL IN TOURISM, SO WE DON’T SELL THE SATISFACTION OF A BUCKET LIST OR STATUS SUMMIT, INSTEAD PROVIDING A DOORWAY INTO THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHERE EXPEDITION CLIMBING CAN GO. BELIEVING FIRMLY IN THE CLICHE THAT “YOU DON’T RISE TO YOUR GOALS, INSTEAD YOU FALL TO YOUR POTENTIAL” WE APPLY FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS RESOURCES TO EXPANDING WHAT THAT POTENTIAL IS IN THE WAY OF SCOPE, SCALE, INNOVATION, INTEGRITY AND FUN.
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THE 2023/24 SEASON CONCERNED ITSELF WITH 6000m STYLE CLIMBING, DONE DURING ‘WINTER’ BY THE BROADEST DEFINITION. WE KNOW THAT THESE DAYS CLIMATE CHANGE IN HIGH ALTITUDE AREAS HAS ALTERED HOW THIS IS DEFINED, SO WE WANTED TO SEE FOR OURSELVES WHAT THIS IS LIKE IN PLACES WITH LITTLE DATA. THIS BASICALLY MEANS FINDING NEW SEASONS WITHIN OUTDATED ONES, WHICH PAID OF 1000 FOLD IN IDENTIFYING A CLIMBING WINDOW IN TWO HITHERO UNOBSERVED AREAS. IN THE ALPINE WORLD THIS IS LIKE FINDING A NEW CONTINENT, CONSIDERING THESE ARE NEW SEASONS IN NEW AREAS EACH THE SCALE OF THE EUROPEAN ALPS. READ THAT AGAIN.
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OUR TIBET TRIPS COVERED MULTIPLE RANGES, CHASING CONDITIONS AND THE WUNDERLUST THAT COMES WITH HAVING THE ENTIRE NORTH EASTERN HIMALAYAS TO OURSELVES. EVEN WITHIN AN HOUR OF TOWNS WE GOT VIRGIN PEAKS, USING A FAST & LIGHT STYLE ON QUALITY CLIMBING ABOVE 5000m. BASICALLY COVERING THE MAIN RANGES AND SOME MORE OBSCURE MASSIFS ALONG THE HIMALAYAS EDGE, WE TESTED AND REPEATED A STYLE THAT WE HAVE WORKED OUT OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS.
THE GOBI ICEFALLS WERE NEW TO US, THOUGH WE HAVE BEEN INTO THE DESERT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THIS TIME IN A SEASON THAT CONVENTION CONSIDERS INSANE. SYNONYMOUS WITH EXTREME COLD AND REMOTENESS, THE GOBI WE FOUND HOSPITABLE AND STUNNING, AND CORNER OF WILDERNESS THAT STILL FEELS LIKE IT DID WHEN WE FIRST WENT THERE AT THE TURN OF THE MILENNIUM.
THE ICE WAS ASTOUNDING OF COURSE, WITH HUGE FALLS AND CASCADES, IN PLACES SO BIZARRE THAT IT WAS LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN DR SEUSS AND ERIC SHIPTON. THIS ALL HAD THE VIBE OF REAL EXPLORATION, ASCENDING FROZEN RAVINES THAT WHEN MELTED ARE NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE TO ENTER. IF THIS IS NOT WHAT ICE CLIMBING IS ALL ABOUT WE DON’T WHAT IS, AND ALREADY HAVE DATES TO BE BACK THERE IN JANUARY.
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DOWN COUNTRY CHINA-WISE, ENTERING NOT LONG AFTER COVID, WE FOUND THINGS TO BE GOOD AND MOVED ON FROM HOW IT WAS BEFORE. INFRASTRUCTURE HAS NOTICEABLY PROGRESSED AS HAVE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS FOR EVERYTHING, AND THINGS CERTAINLY ARE WEALTHIER FROM THE BIG CITIES RIGHT OUT TO THE VILLAGES.
SECURITY-WISE WE HAD NO ISSUES WITH ANYTHING, AND NO ONE INTERFERED WITH OUR TRIPS AT ANY LEVEL. THERE IS A VERY OBVIOUS ABSENCE OF OTHER WESTERNERS, BUT THAT’S HARDLY AN ISSUE, AS IT MEANS A REDUCTION IN THOSE WHO EXPLOIT THEM IN TOURISM AND ADVERTISING. ON THE STREETS CHINA IS GOING THROUGH A HUGE COFFEE REVOLUTION WITH CAFES OPEN EVERYWHERE, SOMETHING WE ARE HAPPY WITH AS A SIGN OF URBAN HIPNESS AND MORE REASON TO GET OUT OF THE HOTEL ROOMS.
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WHAT WE GOT RIGHT
BOTTOM LINE; WE WERE THE ONLY FOREIGN TEAMS RUNNING NORTH OF THE HIMALAYAS, ANYWHERE. ALL OUR PROTOCOLS ACROSS THE YEARS OF COVID AND BAD POLITICS WORKED OUT AND WE RAN TEAMS INTO REMOTE ETHNIC AREAS ALMOST FLAWLESSLY WHERE NO ONE ELSE MADE A MOVE. THUCYDIDES SAID “TO THE GREATEST RISK GOES THE GREATEST SPOILS”, WHICH WAS DUMBED DOWN BY DAVID STERLING INTO A CAP BADGE FOR THE SPECIAL AIR SERVICE AS ‘WHO DARES WINS’, AND IT WAS EXACTLY THIS FOR FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IN THE MATTER OF SECURING ACCESS TO THE LARGEST NUMBER OF HIGH ALTITUDE PEAKS ON EARTH.
WE GOT OUR INTERACTIONS WITH THE AUTHORITIES PERFECTLY RIGHT, AT EVERY LEVEL, GIVING US MORE ACCESS TO ALPINE OBJECTIVES ACROSS A LARGER AREA THAN ANY OTHER PROVIDER. FROM THE LOCAL GUYS OVERSEEING THE ACTIVITIES IN THE APPROACH VALLEYS RIGHT UP TO THE CENTRAL SECURITY AGENCIES THAT GRANT VISAS AND PERMISSION, WE HAD POSITIVE LIAISON AND PAVED THE WAY FOR THE FUTURE.
OUR PROJECTIONS WITH NEW ROUTE OPTIONS AND ACCESS INTO UNDOCUMENTED AREAS PRODUCED TEN FOLD WHAT WE EXPECTED, WHETHER IT WAS NEW ROUTES ON ESTABLISHED PEAKS, ICE FALLS DOWN FROZEN RIVERS, VALLEYS WE’D LOCATED ON MAPS OR SIDES OF PEAKS NEVER CONSIDERED BEFORE. AMONG ALL THIS WE WORKED OUT AN OBJECTIVE FOR A PROJECT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT INVOLVES THE ROCK BAND IRON MAIDEN (COMING SOON), THAT TAKES US IN A NEW DIRECTION.
WE TESTED AND WORKED ON A LOT OF NEW GEAR THIS SEASON, FROM NEW VEHICLES AND ESPRESSO DEVICES TO HYPERBARIC CHAMBERS, TOILET PAPER AND TENTS, AND NEARLY ALL OF IT MET OUR STANDARDS OR FAILED WITHIN EXPECTED PARAMETERS. SOME OF THIS STUFF RELATES DIRECTLY TO MAKING TRIPS SAFER AND MORE EFFICIENT WHICH IS A PRIORITY, AND OTHER STUFF MAKES TRIPS CLEANER AND SMALLER FOOTPRINT WHICH IS ANOTHER SORT OF ETHIC.
WE FORGED RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCALS THAT PUT MORE MONEY INTO THE HANDS OF MORE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT, DIRECTLY NEGATING THE BULLSHIT STORY THAT CHINA SOMEHOW STAUNCHES FREE ENTERPRISE. NEARLY ALWAYS MANAGED BY WOMEN FROM ETHNIC GROUPS SUCH AS TIBETANS, MONGOLIANS AND HUI WE DID MORE TO SUPPORT EDUCATION AND HUMAN DIGNITY THAN ANY AGENDA GROUP WE KNOW OF, OUR TEAMSTERS SEEING FOR THEMSELVES FIRST HAND THE REALITIES OF THINGS MISREPRESENTED IN THE MEDIA.
WE CHANNELED SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF DONATIONS TO SNOW LEOPARD RESEARCH, WITH EVERY TEAMSTER HAVING A PIECE IN KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENTS WE CLIMB IN HEALTHY. HEALTHY APEX PREDATORS MEAN HEALTHY ANIMAL POPULATIONS IN GENERAL AND HELPING THIS AT BOTH THE DONATION AND DIRECTLY EXPERIENTIAL ENDS OF THE SCALE GIVES US A CONTINUUM OF RESPONSIBILITY.
WE HAD A LOT OF FUN. OUR TEAMS ATE WELL, SAW THE REAL TIBET, MET A LOT OF LOCALS FIRST HAND, MADE GOOT DECISIONS AND GOT A LOT OF MOUNTAIN TIME IN TRUE WILDERNESS. EVEN THE HARD STUFF WAS FUN, WITH VERY LITTLE DESCENT INTO TYPE 3, TO THE DEGREE THAT EVERY TRIP ENDED UP WITH PLANS FOR MORE, WHICH IS THE MAIN SIGN OF SUCCESS.
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WHAT WE GOT WRONG
YET AGAIN WE FOUND OUT THAT IN TIBET IT IS STILL TOO EASY TO ASCEND ALTITUDE FAST EARLY ON. THIS IS BECAUSE ROADS ARE GOING EVER HIGHER AND UTILITIES GET EVER MORE COMFORTABLE, MAKING IT TOO EASY TO BE AT 5000m BEFORE THE COLLECTIVE TEAM IS ACCLIMATED. ESPRESSO VANS ON ALL THE HIGH PASSES MORE THAN ONCE TURNED OUR ACCLIMATION PROCESS INTO A COFFEE CRAWL THAT WAS GREAT FOR BIG IDEAS AND TALK OF REVOLUTION, WHEN REALLY WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASING BACK AND PREPARING GEAR IN TOWN.
WE ALSO FAILED ON A FEW HOTELS, TRYING NEW AND SHINY ONES OVER OUR OLD TRIED AND TESTED DEPENDABLES, SOMETIMES ENDING UP WITH HOTWATER THAT DIDN’T WORK OR HEATING AS YET UNINSTALLED. THESE WERE ADDRESSED PRONTO, TO THE CREDIT OF STAFF AND THEIR PRAGMATISM.
ANOTHER THING WE GOT WRONG WAS JUST HOW MUCH THE GLACIERS HAVE CHANGED, AND HOW THIS AFFECTS EVERYTHING NOT JUST APPROACH TIMES. VANISHED ICE IN THESE AREAS LEAVES FIELDS OF BOULDERS STACKED LIKE JENGA PILES THAT NEED DIFFERENT METHODS TO NEGOTIATE, SOMETHING WE UNDERSTAND BETTER NOW BUT THAT WAS UNKNOWABLE ON ARRIVAL.
RELATED TO THIS WE GOT WRONG THE LOCAL SCENE IN THE GOBI, EMBARRASSINGLY ASSUMING THAT THERE WERE FEW CLIMBERS AND THEY’D BE PRIMITIVE IN THEIR METHODS. HOW WRONG WE WERE TO FIND SOME OF THE BEST ICE CLIMBERS WE’VE SEEN ANYWHERE, GUARDING DOZENS OF SECRET LOCATIONS THEY WERE WORKING ON IN STYLES THAT MAKE EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA SEEM SHAMELESS. YES, THE GOBI DESERT MIDWINTER IS A LONELY PLACE, BUT THOSE WE DID MEET OUT THERE FROM LOCAL CLIMBERS TO HERDERS, WERE INTENSELY WELCOMING AND GENEROUS IN WAYS THAT WESTERN CLIMBING CAN SOMETIMES HAVE FORGOTTEN.
ON THE BAD SIDE, WE WERE WRONG ABOUT SOME OF THE COST INCREASES IN CHINA, HAVING ASSUMED THINGS WOULD BE LESS THAN WHAT THE ALIGNED ECONOMIES ARE GOING THROUGH. WE ARE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT BUT IT MEANS SOME MINOR PRICE INCREASES FROM US, THOUGH THE SILVER LINING IS IT ENTAILS INCREASES IN SERVICES, LOCAL PURCHASING POWER AND RESOURCE QUALITY – WHICH CAN’T BE SAID FOR EVERYWHERE…
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YEAH YEAH, BUT WHAT ABOUT SUMMITS?
THERE WERE NONE.
THOUGH WE DON’T JUDGE THE SUCCESS OF AN EXPEDITION BY SUMMITS, THEY SURE ARE COOL WHEN THEY HAPPEN, BUT THIS TIME, ACROSS TIBET, THEY DIDN’T. YES, WE CLIMBED NEW ICE FALLS AND MINOR PEAKS AND GOT ONTO NEW ROUTES AND WENT INTO UNTRODDEN AREAS, BUT NONE OF IT LEAD TO STANDING ON A SUMMIT AND THE PROCESS OF CLAIMING A FIRST ASCENT.
THIS WASN’T A FAILURE OF TRYING, THIS WAS A POSSIBLE OUTCOME OF PERHAPS TRYING TOO MUCH, SUCH THAT ATTEMPTING NEW ROUTES AND FIRST ASCENTS, IN OBSCURE AREAS AT HIGH ALTITUDE, UNSUPPORTED, BY PURE ALPINE STYLE, IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, ON CUTTING EDGE TIMELINES WILL ALWAYS RISK. THIS EQUATION IS HARD TO RECONCILE IN CHAMONIX, LET ALONE NORTHERN TIBET, WHERE BEING THE FIRST TO THE BASE OF A PEAK IS NEWS, AND EVERYTHING BEYOND THAT IS A CLIMBING ECSTACY THAT THE AVERAGE CLIMBER WILL NEVER KNOW.
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WHAT NEXT?
IN ITS WAY THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERS, AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS AN EXPEDITION PROVIDER, BECAUSE THE VALUE IN OUR TRIPS IS THE POTENTIAL IT UNLEASHES. WHEN OUR TEAMSTERS AND ACCOLYTES TAKE ALL THIS AND REFINE IT INTO SOMETHING NEW, FEASIBLE AND POSITIVELY DISRUPTIVE.
NEXT, OF COURSE, COMES THE KARAKORAM, WHICH UPS THE GAME CONSIDERABLY AND WHICH WE NEEDED THE EXPERIENCES OF WINTER IN TIBET TO GET ALIGNED. MOST OF OUR TEAMSTERS ARE COMING TO VARIOUS OBJECTIVES AROUND K2, CARRYING ON THE MOMENTUM WITH ALL THE ELEMENTS AN EXPEDITION IS BUILT ON.