WHAT DEFINES TIBETAN STYLE ALPINISM?
5000 – 7000M PEAKS
PEAKS AT THESE HEIGHTS OFFER AMAZING CLIMBING-TO-DOLLAR RATIOS. RATHER THAN WEEKS ON CROWDED APPROACHES THEN MORE TIME PLAYING CONNECT FOUR AND EATING POPCORN IN A MESS TENT, THESE ELEVATIONS GENERATE A HIGH PROPORTION OF CLIMBING TIME. THESE ELEVATIONS ALSO ALLOW FOR MORE TECHNICAL AND/OR HARD CLIMBING, AND WHEN COMBINED WITH RELATIVELY QUICK APPROACHES OPEN UP POSSIBILITIES IMPOSSIBLE ELSEWHERE.
VARIATION
SO MUCH GEOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAS PRODUCED A WIDE RANGE OF MOUNTAIN TYPES. HUGE WALLS, COMPLEX MASSIFS, ROCKY SPIRES, COLLECTIONS OF GRANITE TOWERS, LONG FACES OF CONNECTED PEAKS, ISOLATED STANDALONE PEAKS. SOME AREAS ARE HEAVILY GLACIATED WHILST OTHERS RISE FROM GRASSY STEP AND RIVER VALLEYS.
UNEXPLORED
MOST TIBETAN RANGES, EVEN THE WELL KNOWN ONES AND PEAKS NEAR TOWNS, ARE BARELY EXPLORED. MOST HAVE NEVER BEEN LOOKED AT WITH THE INTENTION TO CLIMB, MAKING EVEN THE BASE OF MANY MOUNTAINS UNCHARTED GROUND. OF THE PEAKS THAT HAVE HAD INTEREST, ITS OFTEN OF JUST A SINGLE ASPECT, WITH WHOLE OTHER SIDES OF FAMILIAR PEAKS UNKNOWN. WEATHER RECORDS BARELY EXIST AND WHAT DOES IS BASED ON MODELS RATHER THAN ACTUAL RECORDING. EVEN PEAKS ON MAPS, UNLESS CLIMBED, HAVE NOT BEEN VERIFIED, WITH DISCREPANCIES SOMETIMES SHOW TO BE BY SEVERAL HUNDRED METERS. ALL THIS MEANS GOING INTO TIBETAN RANGES REQUIRES A SCOPE OF SKILLS RARELY SEEN SINCE THE 80S
HIGH STARTS
MOST APPROACHES BEGIN BETWEEN 3500M AND 4200M, MAKING THE ASCENT TO THE ROADHEAD FROM SEA LEVEL CHENGDU ONE NEEDING PLANNING. ITS EASY TO RISE TOO FAST AS TIBET ZIPS PAST THE CAR WINDOW, BUT SMARTER ASCENT PROFILES CAN BE MANAGED. IN THE END, IT WILL CATCH YOU.
REMOTE
EVEN RANGES CLOSE TO TOWNS ARE STILL SEVERAL DAYS FROM PLACES WHERE COMMUNICATION AND REQUIREMENTS WILL BE EASY. JUST BECAUSE A TOWN IS NEAR DOESNT MEAN YOURE CLOSE TO HELP
ACUTE APPROACHES
TIBETAN APPROACHES TEND TO GO FROM 4000M ROADHEADS TO 5000M BASECAMPS OVER QUITE SHORT DISTANCES – OFTEN WITHIN 5KM. CONSIDER THAT THE APPROACH TO EVEREST OR K2S BC AT SIMILAR ELEVATIONS OCCUR OVER A WEEK, STARTING AT ABOUT 3000M AND SPANNING ABOUT 65 – 80KM. ITS EASY TO GAIN HEIGHT TOO FAST ON THE DRIVE UP FROM THE YANGZI BASIN, SO TRANSPORT NEEDS TO BE ARRANGED TO COVER THIS. THE GOOD THING IS MUCH OF YOUR ACCLIMATION CAN TAKE PLACE IN HOTELS AND AROUND TOWN, RATHER THAN OUT IN A COLD TENT.
LITTLE SNOW
COMPARED TO ALASKA AND SOME OF CENTRAL ASIA MUCH OF TIBET HAS LESS SNOW. NORTH OF THE MINYA KONKA RANGE SNOW LOADING SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASES AND SOME AREAS IN QINGHAI ARE HIGH ALTITUDE DESERT IN THE SECONDARY RAIN SHADOW BEYOND THE GREATER HIMALAYA. 20 YEARS ON THE GROUND HAS SHOWN US THAT DEPENDABLE WEATHER PATTERNS CREATE INCREDIBLE WINDOWS, BUT DUE TO THE SCARCITY OF CLIMBING THEY ARE LITTLE KNOWN.
NO HELICOPTERS
IN CHINA, ANY FORM OF HELP WILL COME FROM DAYS AWAY THRU THE LOCAL MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATIONS. THERE WONT BE HELICOPTERS PUT IN THE SKY FOR CLIMBERS. PERIOD. THIS GIVES THINGS A DEGREE OF RISK NOT SEEN IN HIGH ALTITUDE AREAS FOR DECADES AND AN AFFECT OF THIS MEANS INTERNATIONAL RESCUE GROUPS LIKE GLOBAL RESCUE HAVE REDUCED EFFICACY IN CHINA.
RELAXED CULTURES
THESE DAYS TIBET IS A SAFE CULTURE TO BE IN. ASIDE FROM OCCASIONAL PICK POCKETING AND A FEW HYGEINE ISSUES LIKE HEPATITIS AND TETANUS, TIBETAN AREAS ARE PRETTY EASY TO BE IN. FOOD IS PLENTIFUL, HOTELS ARE OK, THERES NO HEAVY RELIGIOUS STUFF OR EXTREMISM AND IN GENERAL TIBETANS ARE HAPPY TO HAVE OUTSIDERS PASS THRU SO LONG AS THEY DONT TREAT LOCALS LIKE THEIR HOME IS DISNEYLAND. THAT SAID, TIBETAN LIBERALISM CAN EASILY BE CONFUSED WITH FALSE SECURITY. TIBETANS STILL HAVE GOOD PEOPLE AND BAD PEOPLE, OPPORTUNISTS AND UGLY ELEMENTS. IN EASTERN TIBET ESPECIALLY BRIGANDRY HAS A LONG HISTORY THAT ISNT EXACTLY DEAD YET, AND NOT EVERYONE IS GLAD TO SEE OUTSIDERS.
NO INDUSTRY
ASIDE FROM THE ANOMALY OF THE CROSS-BORDER EVEREST/8000M INDUSTRY, ELSEWHERE TIBET HAS NO INDUSTRY TO SUPPORT CLIMBERS. A FEW CHINESE COMPANIES PROVIDE THE LOGISTICS AND LEGAL STUFF AND THERES A GUESTHOUSE OR TWO AIMED AT FOREIGN ADVENTURE TRAVELERS, BUT OUT IN THE MOUNTAIN AREAS THERES NOTHING. THIS MEANS NO SYSTEMS OF PORTERS, NO TEA HOUSES, NO CODE OF EMPLOYMENT, NO GEAR SHOPS, NO REASON TO CARE. IN SOME AREAS LOCALS JUST LAUGH WHEN ASKED IF PORTERS ARE AVAILABLE, WONDERING WHY FOREIGNERS CANT CARRY THEIR OWN LOADS.
GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE
DESPITE ITS IMAGE AS A HARDCORE DESTINATION, THE ROADS, TOWNS, FOOD AND BASICS IN TIBETAN AREAS CAN BE GOOD. MUCH BETTER THAN ANYWHERE SOUTH OF THE HIMALAYA OR IN CENTRAL ASIA. IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP THE POPULATION HAPPY CHINA HAS SUNK A LOT INTO ROADS, POWER SUPPLIES, HOSPITALS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS ETC. YOU MAY NOT WANT TO LIVE THERE YEAR ROUND, BUT ITS CERTAINLY ENOUGH TO BOOKEND THE ACTUAL CLIMBING.
PERMITS
THE DAYS OF UNDER-THE-RADAR ASCENTS ARE PRETTY MUCH OVER – AS ARE THE DAYS OF BUYING YOUR WAY OUT OF TROUBLE. PERMITS IN CHINA FOR VIRGIN PEAKS CAN BE UP TO $8000, THEN THERES A SERIES OF SMALLER FEES AND PERMITS FOR COMPULSORY INSURANCE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENTRANCE TO SOME AREAS. BUT, FOR ALL THIS, WHAT YOU GET IS GOOD – CREW ARE WELL PAID AND PROFESSIONAL, INFRASTRUCTURE GETS THINGS DONE, THE SYSTEM WORKS AND FOR ALL THE EXPENSE, IT KEEPS THINGS FROM BECOMING CROWDED. TO THAT END, IN 20 YEARS THERE WILL STILL BE NEW AREAS ACROSS TIBET TO EXPLORE. ITS WORTH NOTING THESE SAME FEES APPLY TO CHINESE CLIMBERS AS WELL.
POLITICS & RESTRICTIONS
TIBET NEVER HAS BEEN OPEN AND FREE AND ASIDE FROM A 10 YEAR WINDOW WHEN LACK OF INTEREST MEANT NO ONE WAS WATCHING, ITS BETTER NOW THAN ITS EVER BEEN. YES, BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING, BUT SO LONG AS YOU STICK TO CLIMBING THEY ARE MORE CURIOUS THAN PROBLEMATIC. THAT SAID, MAKE A PROBLEM FOR THE PUBLIC SECURITY BUREAU AND THEY WILL BE VERY EFFICIENT AT SHUTTING THINGS DOWN TILL ITS SORTED. NOT ALL PROBLEMS COME FROM THE AUTHORITIES THO; LOCAL SUPERSTITIONS AND MONASTIC RULES HAVE SHUT DOWN THEIR FAIR SHARE OF EXPEDITIONS, AND UNLIKE THE LIMITATIONS OF AUTHORITY, THIS HAPPENS WELL AFTER YOUVE HANDED OVER YOUR CASH. POLITICS IS NEVER FAR THE SURFACE IN TIBETAN AREAS, AND ITS COMPLEX BEYOND WHAT ANY NEWCOMER WILL COMPREHEND. TO THINK ITS AS BLACK AND WHITE AS ‘TIBET VS CHINA’ IS THE FIRST ERROR TO MAKE. AUTHORITIES ARE AWARE THAT SOME FOREIGNERS HAVE AGENDAS – A HISTORY OF HOLDING AND EJECTING JOURNALISTS IS TESTAMENT TO THIS – AND COMPARED TO NEPAL, PAKISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN ETC THIS IS ALL MORE TIGHTLY CONTROLLED.
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ADD ALL THIS UP AND FOR HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING IT MAKES ONE OF THE MOST UNADULTERATED REGIONS TO CLIMB IN – WHICH IN THIS ERA DEMANDS A UNIQUE CLIMBING STYLE COMBINING THE LIGHT AND UNSUPPORTED STYLE OF ALASKA, THE CLEAN ETHICS OF SCOTLAND, THE TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF CHARAKUSA, THE EXOTIC REMOTENESS OF CENTRAL ASIA
TODAYS CLIMBING RESOURCES MEAN THERE IS NO REASON TO USE INVASIVE METHODS TO ASCEND. NO BOLTS NEED TO BE NEEDLESSLY USED, NO INDUSTRIAL BASE CAMPS NEED TO BE CARVED OUT, NO FIXED ROPES NEED TO BE INSTALLED ETC. USING THE EXAMPLE SET IN PLACES LIKE ALASKA’S RUTH GORGE, SMALL GROUPS WITH LIGHT CAMPS CAN COME AND GO TO SERIOUS OBJECTIVES LEAVING ALMOST NO TRACE IF THEY APPLY SOME BASIC PARAMETERS FOR CONDUCT. IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY OTHERS WE HAVE COME UP WITH THESE;
- KEEP TRIPS SELF OR MINIMALLY SUPPORTED; CARRY YOUR OWN STUFF, GO LIGHT, DONT RELY ON THE LOCALS, PAY PROPERLY WHEN YOU DO
- KEEP CLIMBING STYLES CLEAN; NO FIXED ROPES, NO BOLTED PROGRESS, NO FIXED CAMPS, NO RELIANCE ON OUTSIDE TECHNOLOGY. IF YOU CANT CLIMB WITHOUT THESE THINGS COME BACK WHEN YOU CAN.
- KEEP CULTURAL IMPACT TO A MINIMUM; CLIMBERS ARE NOT SALVATION, THESE PEOPLE DO NOT NEED US AND THEY CERTAINLY DONT NEED ALL THE CRAP OF OUR CULTURE IN THEIRS
- GO REMOTE: SPREADING CLIMBING ACTIVITY WIDE PREVENTS PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH SATURATION. IN TIBET THIS INCLUDES BANDITRY, PRICE GOUGING, SANITATION PROBLEMS AND ATTENTION FROM THE POLICE
- KEEP THE AUTHORITIES SATISFIED: PAY FOR THE PERMITS, DONT PROJECT AN AGENDA, BE CAREFUL WITH PHOTOS. ITS TAKEN DECADES TO SEE THESE PLACES OPEN AND THEY CAN BE CLOSED OVERNIGHT. ITS HAPPENED BEFORE. IF YOU WANT TO PUSH THE RULES, DONT CONNECT IT TO CLIMBING. THIS APPLIES AS MUCH TO THE LOCAL MONKS AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AS IT DOES TO THE PSB – REMEMBER THAT IN CHINA THINGS DONT HAVE THE DEGREE OF SEPARATION THEY DO ELSEWHERE.
- COLLECT QUALITY INFORMATION: USEFUL DATA ON THESE PLACES HELPS STREAMLINE FUTURE TRIPS AND MINIMIZE POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS
- UNDERSTAND WHERE YOURE GOING: THE ERA FOR FOREIGNERS TO BLUNDER UNKNOWINGLY THRU ANOTHER CULTURE IS OVER. EDUCATE YOURSELF SO YOU CAN APPLY IT
THESE ARE NOT MEANT AS RULES BY ANY MEANS, THEY ARE SIMPLY THINGS WEVE SEEN TO WORK AND KEEP WORKING OVER 20 YEARS, AND WHEN THE CONTRARY HAS BEEN DONE ITS BEEN SHOWN TO QUICKLY RESULT IN PROBLEMS. WE VIVIDLY RECALL THE YEARS OF ‘ANYTHING GOES’ CLIMBING IN EASTERN TIBET AND YES, IT WAS FUN, BUT THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF TROUBLE WITH THE AUTHORITIES, SECURITY WITH THE LOCALS AND THE DEATHS OF SEVERAL CLIMBERS MAKES IT CLEAR THINGS ARE BETTER NOW.
WITH EFFECTIVELY A CLEAN SLATE THIS IS A CHANCE TO AVOID THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST AND USE STANDARDS IN LINE WITH THE BEST PRACTICES OF TODAY. RIGHT NOW MOST OF TIBET’S MOUNTAINS ARE STILL PRISTINE AND UNADULTERATED BY MASS TOURISM. IN MANY PLACES STREAM WATER IS STILL SAFE TO DRINK, NOMADIC FAMILIES STILL MOVE THRU THE VALLEYS AND FOREIGNERS HAVE ALMOST NO IMPACT ON THE LOCAL WAY OF LIFE. WED LIKE TO SEE IT KEPT THIS WAY.
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A NOTE ON THE USE OF THE WORD ‘TIBET’.
WE USE THE TERM TIBET, BECAUSE WE ARE CLIMBING IN THE LANDS OF TIBETAN PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY ARE IN SICHUAN, QINGHAI, XIZANG ETC AND HOWEVER IT HAS BEEN CARVED UP, ROMANTICIZED AND POLITICIZED BY OTHERS. WE USE IT TO DENOTE THE LANDS THAT COME UNDER THE COLLECTIVE TIBETAN CULTURE. CURRENTLY CLIMBING IN XIZANG PROVINCE IS NEAR TO IMPOSSIBLE, SO WE ARE MOSTLY CLIMBING IN THE WESTERN PART OF SICHUAN PROVINCE THAT WAS XIKANG UNTIL 1955. IN THESE AREAS NON-TIBETAN’S ARE IN A SMALL MINORITY, WITH LITTLE OTHER THAN TIBETAN LANGUAGES SPOKEN. CULTURALLY, ETHNICALLY, LINGUISTICALLY AND PRACTICALLY IT IS 95% TIBETAN.