Month: April 2025

ALL THE EXPERIMENTATION, EXPLORATION, AND EXTREMISM OF EXPEDITION CLIMBINGS EXTENSIVE PAST BRINGS US TO THIS WINDOW IN TIME, TO EXTRAPOLATE THE EXAMPLE OF EXEMPLARY EFFORT, AND PULL OFF THE MOST EXCELLENT ASCENTS THAT CAN POSSIBLY EXIST

“YOU DO NOT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR GOALS, YOU FALL TO THE LEVEL OF YOUR SYSTEMS”.
IT IS EXACTLY 6 MONTHS TILL OUR NEXT HIGH ALTITUDE EXPEDITIONS STEP OFF, AND EVERY DAY DIVERTED FROM PREPARATION WILL BE FELT INTENSLEY WHEN OUT THERE. DAYS NOW DETERMINE ENTIRE WEEKS AND MONTHS LATER IN THE PROCESS, DICTATING THRESHOLDS IN CAPACITY, CONFIDENCE AND FIDELITY OF PLANNING.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

YEARS IN THE MAKING, WE HAVE BEEN GRANTED PERMISSION TO CLIMB IN THE RANGES OF SOUTHERN XINJIANG OVER SUMMER. LONG ONLY OPEN TO ELITE TEAMS, WE HAVE THE GO AHEAD FROM THE XINJIANG MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION FOR THE BIG NAMES LIKE K2 AND THE GASHRBRUM GROUP, AS WELL AS VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED 6000m TO 7000m FIRST ASCENTS. THESE ARE THE LAST HIGH ALTITUDE AREAS FREE OF THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM, OPEN ONLY TO SMALL TEAMS AND DEDICATED EXPEDITIONS

IN 2024 WE WERE SENT A PROTOTYPE ALPINIST2 ULTRA BY SAMAYA, ALONG WITH OUR OTHER EXPEDITION TENTS FOR A WINTER IN TIBET AND XINJIANG. AS ALWAYS, PROTOS FROM SAMAYA ARE MET WITH HEIGHTENED EXCITEMENT, BEING DRIVERS OF SERIOUS INNOVATION, AND THEIR TAKE ON THE ALPINISTS ARCHETYPAL TENT WE KNEW WOULD BE A BIG EVENT IN THE TIMELINE OF MOUNTAIN TENT DESIGN

THE LAST TWO SEASONS HAS SEEN A PSEUDO-REVOLUTION IN HIMALAYAN CLIMBING, WITH A MODEST SURGE OF ATTEMPTS OF NON-MAINSTREAM 6000m PEAKS BY MODESTLY SUPPORTED COMMERCIAL TEAMS. SUMMIT SUCCESS IS MIDDLING – WHICH WE THINK IS FINE – AND THE HIGH ALTITUDE TABLOIDS ARE FINDING A RARE DISTRACTION FROM THE REALITY SHOWS THAT 8000m HAVE BECOME. THIS MOVEMENT HAS BEEN MOSTLY CONFINED TO THE CROWDED PARTS OF THE 8000m RANGES, WHERE A DWINDLING ARRAY OF +6000m PEAKS STILL EXIST THAT ARE MAPPED AND DOCUMENTED.

THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN