NOT TRASHING THE MOUNTAINS

THIS LATEST SEASON WAS THE BUSIEST ON EVEREST AND ALSO THE FILTHIEST. MORE PEOPLE LEAD TO MORE STUFF BEING CARTED UP THERE, MORE PEOPLE SPENDING MORE ACCUMULATVE HOURS IN THE CAMPS, AND IN THE END EVEN THE SHERPAS WERE APALLED WITH WHAT THEY SAW.

IMAGES OF CAMP 4 – NOT THE LOWER CAMPS, BUT THE ONE UP AT 8000m – SHOW SLOPES PLASTERED WITH GARBAGE, FROZEN TENTS, AND MILES OF SHREDDED FABRIC STRUNG OUT AND FLAPPING IN THE WIND. REPORTS ARE OF FROZEN HUMAN WASTE AND DEBRIS FROM MEALS, AND THE USUAL OGXYGEN BOTTLES EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE WORTH A LOT ON RETURN.

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OF COURSE EVERY SEASON AND EVERY 8000M PEAK SEES THE SAME THING, WITH THE PAKISTAN SIDE OF K2 GETTING ATTENTION LAST YEAR, CLEARLY SHOWING DECADES OF TRASH FROM BEFORE THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN. THIS IS SIMPLY WHAT INDUSTRIAL 8000m CLIMBING IS, AND NO EFFORTS SEEM TO HAVE SOLVED ANYTHING, WITH THE PROBLEMS ONLY CREEPING UP THE MOUNTAIN. WHERE ONCE THE GREAT HIMALAYAN TRASH HEAP ENDED AT CAMP 1, IT NOW BREACHES 8000m. SO MUCH FOR ANY TALK ABOUT BEING GUARDIANS OF THE MOTHER GODDESS….

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WE SQUARELY BLAME THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE, FROM THE CLIENTS TO THE SHERPAS, TO THE WESTERN GUIDES AND THE PEOPLE IN THAMEL WHO DO THE BOOKINGS. EXPLICIT BLAME VARIES ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF PLAYERS, BUT AS NO ONE INVLVED IS SOLVING THE PROBLEM NO ONE IS ABOVE IT. THIS IS AN INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR GO UP THE VALLEYS TO THESE PEAKS, PEOPLE CAN CARRY ENTIRE FILM CREWS AND NOVELTY ITEMS LIKE YOGA MATS AND COWBOY UNIFORMS UP WITH THEM.

OF COURSE IT’S WORTH LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS TO ELUCIDATE WHY IT’S NOT WORKING, WITH THE PALTRY IDEA OF BRINGING 8kg BACK DOWN PER PERSON BEING A LUDICROUS NOTION. WHEN THE STANDARD HUMAN SHIT IS ABOUT 500g, THE ENTIRE IDEA IS A MOCKERY.

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BUT IT’S NOT OUR PROBLEM, WHICH IS A HARSH THING TO STATE, BECAUSE OUR PROBLEM LAYS ELSEWHERE. OUR PROBLEM IS HOW TO NOT BE LIKE THEM, IN A WILDERNESS WHERE EVEN COFFEE GRAINS STAND OUT AS UNACCEPTABLE. OUR PROBLEM IS HOW TO BE THE EXAMPLE OF BETTER, TO SHOW HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO CLIMB 8000m PEAKS WITHOUT TRASHING THEM.

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WHAT WE DO

FILTER TEAMS

IF YOU ARE ON ONE OF OUR TRIPS IT’S BECAUSE YOU ALREADY GET THIS, AND THOUGH YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ECO-WARRIOR YOU DO HAVE TO APPRECIATE THE REASONS. PEOPLE CLIMB WITH US BECAUSE THEY WANT REAL, SERIOUS WILDERNESS, WHICH MEANS LEAVING IT WILDERNESS. ME MAY SUMMIT OR NOT, OR BE PERFECT WITH TEAM WORK OR THE COOKING, BUT ONE THING WE GET RIGHT IS LEAVING WILDERNESS AS WE FOUND IT. WE ARE PROUD THAT WE PASS THROUGH, INHABIT, AND CLIMB HARD IN THE MOST WILD HIGH ALTITUDE PLACES ON EARTH, AND ACTIVELY PRESERVE THINGS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE GAME.

OUR CLIMBERS KNOW WILDERNESS WHEN THEY EXPERIENCE IT, AND DON’T WANT TO SEE A HIGHWAY OF ROTTING FIXED ROPES, FLATTENED TENTS AND FLAGS EVERYWHERE BECAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE THE SIGNS OF COMMERCIALISM WHICH THEY REJECT. OUR CONNECTION TO THESE MOUNTAINS IS THE INTIMACY OF FIRST AND RARE ASCENTS BY FAIR MEANS, WHERE THE ABSENCE OF HUMAN IMPACT IS MOTIVATION, FORMING A VERY SELECT SOCIETY OF CLIMBERS WHO HAVE STOOD IN PLACES NO ONE ELSE HAS BEFORE.

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NO TRASH GOES IN

YOU NOTICE HOW SERIOUS PEOPLE SUDDENLY GET ABOUT TRASH WHEN THEY HAVE TO CARRY IT THEMSELVES, SO AS MUCH AS WE MAKE THIS AN ETHICAL POINT, REALLY IT IS SIMPLY BASED IN LOGISTICS.

WE GO TO GREAT LENGTHS ON OUR TRIPS TO REMOVE PACKAGING AND CRAP FROM OUT LOADS, AND ANYONE WHO HAS CLIMBED WITH US WILL KNOW FULL WELL THE HOTEL ROOM SESSIONS LATE INTO THE NIGHT REPACKING SUPPLIES.. WE ADMIT IT TOOK TIME TO GET THINGS AS REFINED AS THEY ARE, AND TO EDUCATE SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS CREW, BUT AS TRIPS BECAME MORE SELF-SUPPORTED THE MOTIVATION STRIP THINGS OUT MYSTERIOUSLY FOLLOWED.

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NO O2

WE’VE DONE THIS TO DEATH, EVERYONE KNOWS THE DEAL. SO LONG AS THERE’S O2 THERE WILL BE ALL THESE PROBLEMS SO WE JUST DON’T DO IT. HERE, HERE AND HERE COVERS ALL THAT IF YOU NEED MORE.

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ALPINE STYLE

IN A SINGLE ETHIC HALF THE PROBLEMS WITH TRASHING MOUNTAINS ARE GONE.

CARRY YOUR OWN LOADS, CLIMB IN PITCHES, CAMP WHERE YOU HAVE TO AND PREACCLIMATIZE WELL, AND ALMOST EVERY REASON TO LEAVE CRAP ON A MOUNTAIN IS TAKEN CARE OF. NO MORE CROWDS MAKING SANITATION PROBLEMS, NO STUPID GEAR YOU DON’T REALLY NEED, NO PILES OF PACKAGING AND NO BIG PERMANANT CAMPS STRUNG LIKE TELEGRAPH STATIONS UP THE PEAK.

ALPINE FORAYS ARE FAST, BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BE LIGHT, NIMBLE, FREE TO CLIMB WHERE YOU CHOOSE AND ACCLIMATED – THERE’S NO NEED TO HANG ABOUT EATING, SHITTING AND AMUSING YOURSELF. GET ON THE ROUTE AND DO WHAT YOU CAME FOR – CLIMB – LINGERING NOWHERE LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE AN IMPACT THAT LASTS.

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NO HUMAN WASTE

WE ALL HAVE TO SHIT AND PISS SOMEWHERE, AND ON OUR TRIPS THAT MEANS INTO RECEPTACLES SO THE WASTE CAN BE DEPOSITED CLEANLY. THIS IS ACTUALLY NOT HARD TO DO, WITH A ZERO SUM AFFECT ON WEIGHT, WITH THE USE OF SOME VERY SIMPLE GEAR THAT CLIMBERS HAVE BEEN USING ELSEWHERE FOR DECADES. THE FACT THAT THESE METHODS HAVEN’T MADE IT TO THE FILTHY SIDE SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE PRIORITIES OF THE INDUSTRY, BECAUSE THERE’S NOTHING NEW HERE. AS WE HAVE SAID FOR YEARS, “IF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TRIPPING RAVERS CAN DO IT AT BURNING MAN, A BUNCH OF CLIMBERS HAVE NO EXCUSE”.

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STRONGER AND SIMPLER TENTS

THOSE YELLOW ‘NORTH FACE’ TENTS YOU SEE STREWN AND RAKED ACROSS THE SLOPES OF EVERY 8000m PEAK, ARE USUALLY COPIES MADE CHEAPLY TO BE DISPOSABLE. IT’S NOT THAT THEY WERE LEFT UP THERE IN A RASH OF DESPERATION AS A TEAM EXITED UNDER DURESS. OH NO, THEY WERE NEVER INTENDED TO LAST LET ALONE BE HAULED BACK DOWN.

INSTEAD OF COMPLEX, NYLON, DOUBLE SKINNED TENTS THAT FLAP, BILLOW AND SHRED IN THE WINDS, WE USE SIMPLE DYNEEMA TENTS THAT SURVIVE TESTING IN WIND TUNNELS. AT THEIR EXTRAORDINARILY LOW WEIGHT WE HAVE NO EXCUSE TO LEAVE THEM BEHIND, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE SO WELL MADE THEY LAST US YEARS.

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NO PRAYER FLAGS

THIS MAY OFFEND SOME PEOPLE, BUT MILES OF NYLON TWISTED ACROSS MOUNTAIN FEATURES ISN’T AS ROMANTIC AS IT SOUNDS. FAIR PLAY IF YOU WANT TO APPEASE THE MOUNTAIN DEITIES, BUT BRING SOME DEGRADABLE PAPER ONES INSTEAD, THEY COST ABOUT 5c FOR PACKETS OF 108. FOR K2 DONT BRING ANY AT ALL BECAUSE THAT REGION IS SIMPLY NOT TIBETAN.

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TIMELINES

WE DO OUR ACCLIMATING IN ELSEWHERE SO WHEN WE ARRIVE AT THE PEAK WE JUST CLIMB, SO OUR TIME IS SPENT WITH THAT FOCUS. THERE WON’T BE PARTIES AND YOGA CLASSES, AND MOVIES AND DANCING, BECAUSE EVERY MOMENT IS ENGAGED WITH THE TASK AT HAND EITHER RESTING, PREPARING OR DOING IT. WE DON’T HAVE A THING AGAINST DANCING AND YOGA, BUT ON OUR SORTS OF TRIPS IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CLIMBING.

WE ALSO DON’T CARRY THE ACCOUTREMENTS FOR THESE THINGS, ALL OUR TIME AND ENERGY IS TAKEN UP WITH THE CLIMBING, AND ANY EXTRA SPACE IN THE LOADS IS FILLED WITH FOOD, NOT SCREENS AND BOTTLES OF WHISKY WHICH ONLY HAVE TO BE CARRIED BACK OUT AGAIN.

WE KNOW FULL WELL THAT WHEN THE CLIMBING IS DONE, HOWEVER IT WENT, THE LAST THING ANYONE WANTS IS TO CARRY EXTRA LOADS OUT. BUT THAT’S THE DEAL, THE PRICE OF ENTRY INTO REAL WILDERNESS THAT THOSE THAT CAME BEFORE ALL AGREED, SO AN EFFICIENT EXIT STRATEGY IS ALL ABOUT NOT SABOTAGING IT WITH EXTRA JUNK FROM THE START.

FEWER MOVING PARTS, FEWER THINGS TO DISRUPT AND FAIL, FEWER DISTRACTIONS AND LESS EXTRANEOUS STUFF IS WHAT MAKES THINGS EFFICIENT. YOU WON’T BE BORED, THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE ON A FIRST ASCENT WHERE YOU ARE AT THE CENTER OF THE ACTIVITY, AND ALL OUR TIME IS USED EFFICIENTLY ACCORDING TO WELL THOUGHT THROUGH PLANNING.

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OUR REWARD ON THESE TRIPS IS SEE AND DO WHAT NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE, TO EXPERIENCE THE PRISTINESS AND QUIETUDE OF PLACES UNTOUCHED. TIME IN THESE PLACES AWAKENS A SENSITIVITY TO EVEN THE SLIGHTEST INTRUSION, WHICH MAKES THE FILTH AND THE FAILINGS OF PLACES LIKE EVEREST SEEM IN ANOTHER WORLD.