THE COMPANIES WE COLLABORATE WITH

ATTEMPT THE IMPOSSIBLE TO IMPROVE – BETTE DAVIS

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WE DON’T DO SPONSORSHIP, WE DON’T SUBSIST OFF PRODEALS, WE ARE NOT AMBASSADORS OR PRO ATHLETES OR REPS, WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT RETAILERS AND WE DON’T GET STUFF FOR FREE WITH THE IDEA WE WILL FLOG IT TO OUR TEAMS.

WHAT WE DO IS COLLABORATE.

COLLABORATION MEANS MULTIPLE PARTIES WORKING TOGETHER FOR A SHARED OUTCOME, AND IN OUR CASE THAT OUTCOME IS INDEPENDENT CLIMBING BEYOND THE RANGE OF INDUSTRY. WE NEED STUFF THAT A REGULAR MARKET CANNOT FLOAT AND THESE COMPANIES NEED AN OUTLET FOR EXPERIMENTATION IN SMALL VOLUME, AND THE OUTCOME IS A RATE OF INNOVATION FAR HIGHER THAN THE BIG MANUFACTURERS COULD EVER DO.

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WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT, AFTER ENOUGH TIME LEARNING THE HARD WAY THE LIMITATIONS OF STUFF THAT CAME BEFORE. OUR UNIQUE DEMANDS REQUIRE EXPERTS TO RESOLVE THEM, PEOPLE WHO TAKE PLEASURE IN THE UNUSUAL PARAMETERS AND OBJECTIVES WE PRESENT, AND WE LIKE TO SEE EXPERTISE BEING EXERCISED, FINDING NEW WAYS TO HARNESS IT OUT IN THE COLD REALITY OF BIG MOUNTAINS.

OUR LIST OF FORMER COLLABORATORS IS LONG AND SOMETIMES ILLUSTRIOUS; PRODUCERS THAT COULDN’T MATCH OUR TEMPO FOR INNOVATION, BURNED OUT FROM THE LEVEL OF DETAIL, SWINDLED OUR IDEAS, DIDN’T SHARE OUR IDEAS ABOUT ALPINISM, COULDN’T MEET THE STANDARDS WE IMPOSE, WOULDN’T TRUST OR IMPLEMENT OUR DESIGN DEMANDS, OR WHO WERE SIMPLY TOO CONSERVATIVE AND LIMITED IN VISION TO TAKE ON THE RADICAL SOLUTIONS WE WANT.

IN PLACE OF THOSE WHO COULDN’T STAND THE HEAT OF THE KITCHEN WE HAVE COME TO COLLABORATE WITH THOSE WHO SHARE OUR PERSPECTIVE, THAT REVEL IN THE IDEAS AND POTENTIAL, AND WHO PUSH SOLUTIONS WHERE OTHERS SAW LIMITS. THESE ARE THE COMPANIES PRODUCING THE STRONGEST, LIGHTEST, WARMEST AND MOST ALPINE-DEDICATED SUPPLIES AVAILABLE, WHO VALUE OUR SIDE OF THE EQUATION WHICH IS PROVIDING A VERY REAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM TO LET THEIR DESIGN CAPABILITY FLY.

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WE MAKE THE FREEDOM FROM INDUSTRY OF FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS SOMETHING WE PROVIDE TO OUR TEAMS, SO JUST AS WE PUT THEIR OBJECTIVES INTO ACTION, WE FREE OUR CLIMBERS FROM THE LIMITS OF COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT THAT IS USUALLY AIMED AT A FORM OF MOUNTAINEERING THAT WE DON’T REALLY DO. COLLABORATION WE FOUND IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD, TAPPING INTO THE HUGE RESERVE OF INNOVATION AND IDEAS THE EXPERTS ACROSS THE FIELD HAVE SITTING JUST BELOW A COMMERCIAL SURFACE. THE HISTORY OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING GOES HAND IN HAND WITH RETHINKING AND DEVELOPING THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO DO STUFF IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT.

WE USE THE PRODUCTS OF THESE COMPANIES FINEST WORK TO GET REAL LIFE FEEDBACK AND AUTHENTIC EXPOSURE. WE DON’T LIVE IN SOME FANTASY OF PLAYING WITH COOL TOYS OUT OF SOME SORT OF HEDONISM, AND ARE FULLY AWARE THESE ARE REAL WORKING COMPANIES – USUALLY AT SMALL VOLUME – THAT INTIMATELY CARE WHERE THEIR PRODUCTS GO.

FOR THESE COMPANIES WE PROVIDE A PLACE FOR THEM TO GET THEIR BEST CONCEPTS INTO REALITY, MUCH LIKE BEING ALLOWED TO DRIVE THE CONCEPT CARS THEY SHOW ON TELLY AT THE GLITZY SHOWS. WE LET THEM KICK OUT THE JAMS ON MATERIALS, DESIGNS, IDEAS AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS, TO FIND THE OUTER EDGE OF POSSIBILITIES THAT EVENTUALLY TRICKLE DOWN TO COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY – MAYBE.

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ELITECLIMB

ALREADY THE FINEST CLIMBING TOOLS AVAILABLE, WE COLLABORATE WITH ELITECLIMB OVER TOOLS FOR HIGH, COLD EXPEDITIONS, THAT ALSO INCLUDES SHOVELS AND HAMMER/TOOLS. AS THE GO-TO CHOICE OF POLISH AND OTHER ELITE CLIMBERS, ELITECLIMB DRAWS FROM A WIDE ARRAY OF SOURCES TO GENERATE SOLUTIONS, MOST PERTAINING TO WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH CARBON COMPOSITES.

IN A SATURATED WORLD OF ICE TOOLS, WE FIND ELITECLIMB TO BE THE ONLY PRODUCER THAT CONSISTENTLY ADDRESSES HOW TOOLS WORK AT A FUNDAMENTAL. WHERE OTHER MAKERS OBSESS OVER TERTIARY FACTORS LAID ON TOP OF SLOW-CHANGING LIMITATIONS, ELITECLIMB WORKS FROM THE BASIC MATERIALS UPWARDS, PUSHING WHAT THOSE MATERIALS WILL DO. THIS RADICALLY ALTERS WHAT A TOOL CAN BE, CHANGING THE FORCES IT IS SUBJECT TO, AND OUTCOMES ARE PLAIN TO SEE WITH TOOLS THAT ARE ALARMINGLY DIFFERENT.

WE COME INTO THIS NEEDING TOOLS FOR BIG, COLD ASCENTS, WHERE TOOLS ARE IN MITTENED HANDS FOR MOST HOURS OF THE WAKING DAY. ELITECLIMB ALREADY ADDRESSES THINGS LIKE THIS AS PAR FOR THE COURSE, WE JUST COLLABORATE ON THINGS LIKE ERGONOMICS AND FINISHES, USING THE COMPOSITES ATTRIBUTES IN WAYS NO TRADITIONAL MATERIALS CAN DO.

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BEARTOOTH

FIRST ASCENTS CAN TAKE A LOT OF HARDWARE – SOMETHING THAT CLASHES WITH TINY, UNSUPPORTED TEAMS, SO REDUCING WEIGHT AND INCREASING FUNCTION HERE HAS A BIG EFFECT ON A TEAM. WHEN THE BITS OF METAL NUMBERS TOWARDS A HUNDRED THEN THE EQUATION STARTS TO CRUNCH, IN THE BASIC PARADIGM OF ALPINISM WHICH IS HOW LITTLE YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH TO STAY ALIVE.

WE COLLABORATE WITH BEARTOOTH BOTH TANGIBLY AND ETHICALLY, ON A PART OF OUR EXPEDITIONS THAT IS THE SHARPEST OF THE SHARP END. THIS IS NOT THE BIG PICTURE STUFF OF WHAT CAN BE DONE OVER WEEKS, BUT THE NERVE BURNING IMMEDIACY OF WHAT TO GRAB FOR TO STAY ATTACHED TO THE MOUNTAIN. BEARTOOTH GETS THIS, MAKING THE ONLY DEDICATED ALPINE BEAKS OUT THERE, TO BE PUNCHED INTO ICE, ROCK AND DUST BY THE DOZEN.

THE REALITY TOO IS THAT NOT ALL HARDWARE IS ON A RETURN TICKET, BEING LEFT BEHIND FROM THE DESCENT. THIS MAKES THE PROBLEM OF INTENTIONALLY LEAVING STUFF IN A WILDERNESS, WHICH CAN BE PERCEIVED AS TRASH, A PART OF THE ‘ZERO IMPACT’ CONCEPT THAT IS HARD TO SQUARE. OUR EFFORT TO ADDRESS THIS IS TO MAKE WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND REUSABLE, BY ETCHING THE BEAKS WITH THE EXPEDITION DATE SO FUTURE CLIMBERS CAN EITHER USE THEM OR NOT, OR EVEN BOOTY THEM BECAUSE WE GUARANTEE THEY ARE BETTER THAN ANY BEAK THEY MIGHT HAVE ON THEIR RACKS.

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SAMAYA

WITHIN A FEW SHORT YEARS SAMAYA TENTS HAVE BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH HIGH ALPINISM, BECOMING WHAT EVERY CLIMBER PUSHING AGAINST ALTITUDE IS EXPECTED TO USE. BEFORE SAMAYA, TENTS HADN’T REALLY CHANGED MUCH FOR DECADES, WITH LOTS OF ATTEMPTS THAT NEVER STUCK AROUND, ESPECIALLY ANYTHING USING DYNEEMA WHERE THE COST COULDN’T BE JUSTIFIED.

OUR INITIAL INTERACTION WITH SAMAYA WAS EARLY ON, AND WHAT STRUCK US WASN’T SO MUCH THE TENTS, BUT THE COMPANIES GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT AND THIRST FOR IDEAS. AS A TINY COMPANY IN A TINY MARKET DOING THINGS FEW CLIMBERS KNOW ABOUT WE USUALLY GET LITTLE INTEREST FROM THE STAR PRODUCERS, BUT STRAIGHT AWAY WITH SAMAYA WE WERE INTO THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF NEW CONCEPTS, ALONGSIDE THE BEST IN THE FIELD.

SAMAYA DOES NOTHING BY HALVES, WITH EVERY SINGLE DETAIL, STITCH, FEATURE AND METRIC REFINED AND ADAPTED TO THEIR UNIQUE PRODUCTS. THIS IS OUR KIND OF STUFF. SAMAYAS DESIGNERS KNOW DOWN TO THE NTH DEGREE WHAT THING WORKS IN WHAT WAY, GIVING AN IMPRESSIVE CAPACITY TO MAKE TENTS THAT BEAT ALL COMPETITION BY DOUBLE-DIGIT PERCENTILES.

COLLABORATING WITH THIS CAPACITY IS EXCITING STUFF, IN THAT ‘CONCEPT CAR’ KIND OF WAY WHERE YOU GET TO SEE WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN THE NORMAL CONSTRAINTS OF INDUSTRY ARE REMOVED. SAMAYA IS EFFECTIVELY INNOVATION ITSELF LAID BARE, WHERE THE CURRENCY IS CONCEPTS

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PARBAT

PARBAT MAKE THE LIGHTEST EXPEDITION PACKS AVAILABLE – BY FAR. WHAT WE USED TO THINK OF AS LIGHT, THEY CAME IN HALVED, WITH A BLEND OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY, NEW MATERIALS, ENTHUSIASM FOR INNOVATION AND ITALIAN DESIGN. COLLABORATING WITH PARBAT IS WHIRLWIND OF IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY, TURNING OUT PACKS AT A RATE MEASURED IN DAYS. THINGS GO FROM CONCEPT TO TEST SAMPLE SOMETIMES AS WE SPEAK, WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY ATTENTION TO DETAIL, THAT LETS US CARRY LOADS IN WAYS THAT HAVE SHIFTED THE STRATEGIES WE WORK WITH.

PARBAT, LIKE THE OTHER PRODUCERS HERE, IS PART OF A FORWARD-LOOKING MOVEMENT, INTERESTED IN WHAT CAN BE DONE MORE THAN ANY ROMANCE OF THE PAST. WE RECCOMEND AND ADVOCATE THEIR PACKS BECAUSE THEY ARE CHANGING THINGS IN REAL TERMS, WITH DESIGNS THAT BLOW AWAY OLD NOTIONS OF WHAT PACK DOES WHAT JOB. WHERE BEFORE LARGE APPROACH PACKS WERE THE WRONG SHAPE, WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS TO CLIMB HIGH WITH, NOW THEY DON’T HAVE TO BE, JUST AS SUPER LIGHT ALPINE PACKS SUFFERING FROM BECOMING TOO FRAGILE IS NOW A THING OF THE PAST.

PARBATS INNOVATION LETS US LOOK AT MOUNTAINS AND EXPEDITIONS DIFFERENTLY, NOT IN SOME RHETORICAL WAY BUT VERY TANGIBLY, BY REDUCING THE WEIGHT OF PACKS WITH NO LOSS OF FUNCTION, BEYOND A LIMIT WE THOUGHT WOULD NOT BE BREACHED. THIS BECOMES A ‘META’ SHIFT, WHERE THE LOAD BEARING MECHANISM ITSELF BECOMES LIGHTER, EXTENDING HOW FAR, HIGH AND FOR HOW LONG WE CAN GO IN PLACES WHERE IT MATTERS.

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MALACHOWSKI

IF A SINGLE COMPANY DEFINES COLLABORATION IT IS MALACHOWSKI, HAVING MADE THE BEST DOWN CLOTHING AND SLEEPING BAGS FOR THE BEST ALPINISTS DOING THE GREATEST THINGS, RIGHT BACK INTO THE COLD WAR. AFTER ALPINISTS THEMSELVES, DOWN GEAR IS POLANDS GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO MOUNTAINEERING, AND TO INTERACT WITH THEM OVER OUR NEEDS IS TO TAP INTO SOMETHING ALMOST ENIGMATIC.

UNLIKE THE EMERGING COMPANIES WE COLLABORATE WITH, MALACHOWSKI IS A PEDIGREE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTING DOWN, INCLUDING PATENTS AND TECHNOLOGY RIGHT UP TO THE PRESENT. INTERSECTING WITH THIS IS TO TAP INTO A MULTI-GENERATIONAL WELL SPRING OF KNOWLEDGE, WHERE THE WORDS “WE CAN DO ANYTHING” MEAN THE FULL GAMBIT OF WHAT DOWN CAN DO. EXPENSIVE AND COMPLEX, EVOLUTIONS IN DOWN GEAR CAN BE SLOW – EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF MALACHOWSKI WHERE EXPERIMENTATION IS RIFE. DEDCADES OF WORKING WITH POLISH CLIMBERS WITH VERY EXACTING NEEDS MAKES THEM ADAPTABLE, AND A TOUR THROUGH THE PROJECT ROOMS IS AN ALADDINS CAVE OF POSSIBILITIES

FOR OUR PART, WE MAINTAIN A PRESENCE IN THE SORT OF PLACES WHERE POLISH DOWN HAS ALWAYS BEEN PROVEN, LIKE HIMALAYAN WINTERS AND NORTH SIDES AND SPARTAN TRIPS WHERE THE STUFF IS LIVED IN FOR WEEKS. ANY DOWN JACKET OR SLEEPING BAG WILL HANDLE A WEEK OR TWO A YEAR, BUT TO SURVIVE CONSTANT USE AT THE FRINGES OF HABITABILITY IS A WHOLE OTHER SET OF DESIGN PARAMETERS THAT NEEDS A MASTER TO PRODUCE.

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CHHOGORI

CHHOGORI IS COLLABORATION, EXISTING AS A WAY TO BRING CONCEPTS TO REALITY. THE CURRENCY IS THE VALUE IN MAKING EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED FOR ROLES SO SPECIALIZED EVEN THE SMALL PRODUCERS CAN’T CRUNCH IT, SPANNING THE SPACE BETWEEN IDEAS AND FULLY WORKING PROTOTYPES FOR STUFF WHERE NOTHING ELSE EXISTS.

CHHOGORI FILLS THE SPACE THAT ANSWERS ‘IS THIS A THING?’, BY MAKING FULLY FUNCTIONING VERSIONS OF IDEAS. THIS IS BEYOND A PROTOTYPE, WHICH IS USUALLY MADE FOR LARGER SCALE PRODUCTION AND AS MUCH ABOUT THE PROCESS AS THE PRODUCT, AND IS EFFECTIVELY ONE-OFF OR A TEAMS-WORTH OF EQUIPMENT WITH NOT NECESSARILY ANY FURTHER CONCESSIONS TO MAKING MORE.

COLLABORATING WITH CHHOGORI SHOWS UP ITS ROOTS IN ARCHITECTURAL INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, WHERE EVERYTHING IS UNIQUE AND CONCEPT-DRIVEN. THE PROCESS IS TO MAKE UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS INTO REALITY – IN OUR CASE BIZARRE INTERPLAYS OF THINGS LIKE CAMELS, COLOUR WAVE LENGTH RECOGNITION, FROZEN RIVERS, MULTIPLE TRANSPORT CHANGES AND SLICK TIMELINES – WITH PROJECT BRIEFINGS ANY OTHER COMPANY WOULD NOT EVEN LOOK AT.

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THE HISTORY OF ALPINISM IS A CONTINUUM OF CHANGE, THAT EXTENDS SEAMLESSLY FROM THE OBJECTIVES AND CLIMBERS THROUGH TO THE RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT THEY USE. TO ADVANCE EXPEDITION CLIMBING AT A TIME WHEN IT HAS GROUND DOWN TO A TRICKLE IT IS A MATTER OF ADVANCING EVERYTHING ALONG THAT CONTINUUM, IN AN EXCITING PROCESS THAT UNCOVERS POTENTIAL IN PLACES HITHERTO UNNOTICED.

WE KNOW THIS IS NOT A PROCESS FOR EVERYONE, IN AN INDUSTRY WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF BAGGAGE IT DRAGS FROM MOUNTAIN TO MOUNTAIN INCLUDING ALL THE TIRED OLD GEAR TO BE USED. THOSE TENT SUBURBS OF VE25s AND OLD STYLES OF SUITS AND WAYS OF MOVING STUFF AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE SOON, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY OPTION THE UPCOMING GENERATION OF ALPINISTS WILL HAVE.

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