FUTURISTIC SHELTERs FOR FUTURISTIC PLACES

ONE OF THE BIGGEST BUZZES IN THIS BUSINESS IS FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR THINGS THE SUPPLY MARKET DOESN’T PROVIDE. WHETHER IT’S EUIPMENT OR CLOTHES OR NEW FORMS OF TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS OR RESEARCH METHODS, WE TAKE THE ‘FIRST’ PART OF FIRST ASCENTS AND EXTEND IT ALL THE WAY TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

NOW, AS WE TOOL UP FOR A SEASON OF ASCENTS ACROSS TIBET AND ELSEWHERE, WE ARE DEEP IN THE PROCESS OF PROCURING GEAR FOR WHAT WE ARE DOING; NAMELY ASCENTS, IN WINTER, THAT ARE SELF-SUSTAINED, IN TEMPERATURES AND AT ALTITUDES WHERE THE DETAILS REALLY MATTER. SOME STUFF HAS BEEN EASY TO ARRANGE, WITH NICHE PROVIDERS AS EXCITED BY THESE VECTORS AS WE ARE. OTHER STUFF HAS BEEN MORE DIFFICULT, WITH SUPPLIERS EITHER UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO MEET OUR REQUESTS – SOMETHING WE CONSIDER A GOOD SIGN.

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AMONG THE HALF DOZEN THINGS WE NEEDED A SOLUTION FOR WAS SHELTER, SOMETHING THAT INTEGRATED AND EXTENDED FROM WHAT WE ALREADY USE FROM SAMAYA. NOW, THIS IS A BIG ASK AS SAMAYA HAS ALREADY REVOLUTIONIZED HOW WE DO THINGS, BUT EVERYTHING THAT RAISES THE BAR ALSO RAISES THE POSSIBILITIES, SO WE WANTED SOMETHING THAT GOES FROM WHERE EVEN SAMAYA HAS IT’S LIMITS.

OF COURSE, SAMAYA WERE THE FIRST FOLKS WE ASKED, BUT COMPLEXITIES ONLY PERIPHERALLY RELATED MEANT THIS PROJECT – AMONG OTHERS – HAD TO WAIT. SO WE ASKED ELSEWHERE, AND GOT NOWHERE, WHICH MEANT WE HAD TO INDEPENDENTLY SKUNKHOUSE THINGS.

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ACTUAL DETAILS WILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL AFTER WINTER, BUT WHAT WE WANTED WAS A SHELTER THAT WOULD COVER 3 CLIMBERS, THAT WEIGHED UNDER 300g, COULD COPE WITH HIMALAYAN STORMS, WAS VISIBLE FROM 5km AWAY, THAT RIGS EASILY AND IS IDIOT-PROOF TO HANDLE, AND COULD BE USED AS A SNOW HAMMOCK BOTH AS ITSELF AND AS INTEGRATED AS THE SHELTER. WE MADE MONEY NO OBJECT, WANTED AS FEW MOVING PARTS AS POSSIBLE, THAT SHARPIES COULD BE USED ON IT, INSISTED ON SOME NEW MATERIALS WE HAVE ARRANGED, AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF MINUTEA WE WEREN’T OPEN TO NEGOTIATE ON.

BEING A PROTOTYPE WE EXPECT EXPERIMENTATION AND THE ODD NEED TO REJIG, AND THAT IT WOULDN’T BE POLISHED OR HAVE ANY ISO COMPLIANCY. EVEN IF IT NAILED HALF OF OUR LIST WE WOULD BE HAPPY, SO LONG AS IT WAS BETTER THAN THE NEXT CLOSEST THING OUT THERE.

AND F%#K DID THEY DELIVER.

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS 99% WHAT WE WANTED, WITH SEVERAL THINGS EXCEED, SOME BLISTERINGLY SO. IT CAME IN LIGHTER AND SIMPLER, THE MATERIALS ARE BETTER, AND THE WHOLE THING IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD GET. NOTHING MAGICK WAS DONE, IT WAS JUST DONE VERY WELL, AND THE THINGS WE WERE IFFY ABOUT WERE RESOLVED ELEGANTLY.

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WE HAVE NOW A SHELTER SOLUTION THAT LETS US STAY ON STEEPER, MORE EXPOSED AND MORE RANDOM TERRAIN, THAT HAS LITTLE FEAR OF BREAKING AND CAN BE RIGGED A THOUSAND WAYS INCLUDING UNDER LOAD HANGING FROM ANCHORS. IT FITS IN A LARGE POCKET OR ABOUT 1/3 OF A PACK LID, AND HAS A STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY THAT LETS US DO THINGS THAT NO MARKET VERSION WILL.

YES WE PAID A LOT, AND WILL PAY IT AGAIN, BECAUSE IT WAS DONE IT RECORD TIME WITH ENTHUSIASM AND MATERIALS THAT DEMAND CARE. OUR DOLLARS WENT ON THINGS WE CARE ABOUT LIKE INNOVATION AND WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE OVER UNUSUAL IDEAS, AND AN ATTITUDE TO DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE COULD. WE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS STUFF ONLY A FEW WILL APPRECIATE OUT, THAT GEAR PORN WEARS OFF WHEN THINGS GET TESTED FOR REAL. WE CAN NOW GO A BIT HIGHER, FURTHER, AND INTO WORSE CONDITIONS WITH CONSIDERABLY MORE MARGIN, AND THAT BEATS THE BUZZ OF ANYTHING THE REGULAR MARKET COULD DO.

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