IT’S A LITTLE BIT LIKE COMPARING SLOW FOOD TO FAST FOOD
GREG M
IT’S EASY TO IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF 8000m CLIMBING IS IN THE HANDS OF THE LARGE INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES THAT HAVE REFINED THE PROCESS OF GETTING MORE PEOPLE, MORE COMFORTABLY, UP & DOWN THE BIG PEAKS, BUT CLOSER ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT SORT OF CLIMBING IS RAPIDLY REACHING IT’S LIMIT. THE COMMERCIAL MODEL OVER THE LAST DECADE HAS FILLED OUT MOST OF THE ELEMENTS TO MAKE TRIPS LIKE EVEREST AND EVEN THE ABRUZZI THE COMMODITIES THEY’VE BECOME BY REFINING THE LOGISTICS, STANDARDIZING THE METHODS AND NAILING DOWN THE TIMELINES ALL TO BE THE MOST COMMERCIALLY VIABLE. CONSIDERING HOW THINGS HAVE EVOLVED OVER ABOUT 25 YEARS, IT’S BEEN REMARKABLE TO WATCH, BUT AS WITH ALL GROWTH BUBBLES EVENTUALLY THE MAXIMUM OF WHAT A SYSTEM CAN PUT OUT IS REACHED. FOR THE LARGE COMMERCIAL 8000m TRIPS THATS GETTING CLOSE – THE LIMITING FACTORS BEING SET BY ACCESSIBILITY, LOCAL INFLATION, DEMAND & HUMAN CAPACITY.
WHILE THAT’S BEEN GOING ON THOUGH, OTHER ADVANCES IN EXPEDITION CLIMBING HAVE BEEN GOING ON, WITH EQUIPMENT, TRAINING, ACCESS & STRATEGY MASSIVELY ENHANCING THE POTENTIAL OF THE INDEPENDANT CLIMBER. AT THEIR DISPOSAL, THE CLIMBER OF TODAY HAS NEVER HAD MORE RESOURCES BEFORE THEM TO TAKE ON THE WORLDS HIGHEST PEAKS WITHOUT THE DINOSAUR LOGISTICS & IMPACT THAT IS THE STANDARD IDEA OF 8000m ASCENTS.
FREE OF THE NEED TO PLUG INTO THE HUGE, INEFFICIENT COMMERCIAL MODEL, INDEPENDANT ‘SMALL FOOTPRINT’ TEAMS LOSE THE LIMITING FACTORS OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING LIKE LOCAL INFLATION etc AND ROLL OUT EMERGING ADVANTAGES THAT ARE NOT POSSIBLE WITH THE HEAVILY STANDARDIZED MODEL. IF CLIMBING THE WORLD’S HIGHEST PEAKS BY EVER MORE EFFICIENT & EVER MORE SKILLFUL MEANS IS THE OBJECTIVE – AS IT HAS BEEN FOR ALPINISM FOR OVER A CENTURY – THEN IT’S ONLY THE INDEPENDANT CLIMBERS THAT CAN DO THIS.
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NOT LONG AGO THIS WAS THE PREMISE OF ONLY THE MOST ELITE CLIMBERS, BUT ADVANCES IN SEVERAL ASPECTS OF MODERN CLIMBING MEAN IT’S NOW OPEN TO A LARGER SECTOR OF THE CLIMBING COMMUNITY. SMALLER TEAMS, WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN, DOING LESS FREQUENTED ROUTES WITH BARELY ANY LOGISTICS, FREED OF THE INDUSTRIAL CONSTRAINTS THAT HAVE STANDARDIZED THE 8000m EXPERIENCE.
JUST AS REGULAR COMMERCIAL 8000m ASCENTS OF THE SORT SEEN ON EVEREST, BROAD PEAK ETC ARE OPEN TO ALMOST ANYONE NOW, LOW IMPACT ALPINE-STYLE ASCENTS HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE DOABLE FOR MORE CLIMBERS. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS THE ABILITY TO ATTEMPT THE WORLDS HIGHEST PEAKS, BY QUIET ROUTES, WITH ALMOST NO IMPACT & VIRTUALLY INDEPENDANTLY HAS NEVER BEEN MORE POSSIBLE. ON COST ALONE, FOR A GROUP OF CLIMBERS TO ATTEMPT AN OBSCURE 8000m ROUTE WITH A MINIMUM OF LOGISTICS & FOOTPRINT COSTS THE SAME OR LESS AS THE LARGE COMMERCIAL VERSION OVER THE RIDGELINE.
MODERN GEAR MEANS LOADS ARE LIGHTER AND MORE EFFICIENT, TO THE POINT THAT THEY REQUIRE HALF THE LOGISTICS TO TRANSPORT AND ROLL OUT THAN THEY DID A DECADE AGO. FOR A 6-8 WEEK TRIP IT’S NOW ENTIRELY DOABLE FOR A SMALL TEAM TO SET UP & MAINTAIN A BASECAMP AND DO THE ASCENT WITH ONLY A SMALL LOGISTICS CREW IN SUPPORT. CLIMBERS COMING FROM BACKGROUNDS IN PLACES LIKE THE RUTH GORGE, EASTERN EUROPE & SICHUAN WILL BE ALREADY VERSED IN THE SORT OF LIGHT WEIGHT CAMPS & LOGISTICS THAT WITH JUST A LITTLE ADAPTION WORK FOR A SEASON IN THE KARAKORAM. AS TRIPS GET MORE EFFICIENT AND TIMELINES MORE STREAMLINED, NEW GENERATION TENTS, COMMS & COOKING METHODS MAKE THE OLD SCHOOL BASECAMPS SEEN ON THE BALTORO AND KHUMBU APPEAR NOSTALGIC AND OVERKILL IN COMPARISON TO WHAT THE LATEST
ABOVE BASECAMP – WITHOUT THE ISSUES THAT COME WITH USINING & SUPPLYING SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN – ROUTES CAN BE CLIMBED VERY DIFFERENTLY TO THE STANDARD COMMERCIAL FORMAT USED ON MOST 8000m ASCENTS. CLIMBING TO THE TEAMS OWN RHYTHM, PLACING CAMPS BETTER SUITED TO THEIR SIZE, USING SMALL TEAM STRATEGIES UNIQUE TO THEIR COMPOSITION, ALPINE TEAMS ARE VASTLY MORE EFFICIENT.