FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS ISN’T RUN BY BUSINESS PEOPLE WHO CLIMB, IT’S RUN BY CLIMBERS WHO HAVE A BUSINESS. THE PART BELOW THE WATER-LINE IS A COLLECTIVE SIX DECADES OF EXPEDITIONS ACROSS THE RANGES, RIVERS & DESERTS OF NORTHERN & CENTRAL ASIA.
WE LIKE OUR CREW TO HAVE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL ACCREDITATIONS FROM ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE AMGA & IFMGA, BUT WE EXPECT A LOT MORE FROM THEM THAN THAT. AS IMPORTANT AS GUIDING STANDARDS ARE, THEY ARE ONLY A SMALL PART OF RUNNING GENUINE EXPEDITIONS TO HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS AREAS, WHERE APPTITUDE FOR LOGISTICS, STRATEGY, CONTINGENCY & ADAPTABILITY, WORKING WITHIN OTHER CULTURES FOR EXTENDED PERIODS, A LONG WAY FROM HOME. OUR CREW AREN’T THE PEOPLE THAT SURVIVE LONG TRIPS OFF THE MAP – THEY ARE THE ONES THAT REVEL IN IT.
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GROWING UP AROUND THE TIBETAN PLATEAU & RUNNING SICHUAN MOUNTAIN GUIDE, FEW PEOPLE HAVE RUN AS MANY TRIPS TO THE TIBETAN PLATEAU AND OBSCURE PARTS OF XINJIANG AS ALEX HAS. PART OF THE NEW GENERATION OF EXPLORATORY CLIMBERS, ALEX HAS BEEN CENTRAL TO MANY OF THE LAST DECADES MOST CUTTING EDGE TRIPS, OPENING UP PLACES PREVIOUSLY UNVISITED AND DEVELOPING THE LOGISTICS TO MATCH. FAST BECOMING THE NAME IN REMOTE & HIGH ALTITUDE EXPEDITIONS, ALEX BRINGS HIS EXPERIENCE WITH FOREIGN TEAMS TO THE NEW WAYS OF DOING TRIPS IN CHINA.
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OVER 20 YEARS AND 20 TRIPS CLIMBING IN CHINA & CENTRAL ASIA, ED HAS SEEN THE RANGES OF THE REGION OPEN UP AND SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF CLIMBERS EMERGE. FROM THE LARGE TEAMS OF THE LATE 90’s MAKING THE EARLY TRIPS INTO THE PAMIR TO THE SMALL, SELF-SUSTAINED TEAMS DOING FAST ASCENTS IN TIBET HE HAS BEEN AMONG THE MOST ENDURING OF FOREIGN CLIMBERS IN CHINA. RUNNING JAPAN’S MOST EXTENSIVE ALPINE CLIMBING COMPANY, HE HAS CROSS-POLLINATED MANY ELEMENTS GLEANED FROM JAPANESE ALPINISM WITH HIGH ALTITUDE TRIPS ACROSS TIBET & XINJIANG THAT HAS LEAD TO MULTIPLE FIRST ASCENTS AND DIFFICULT ROUTES. SEE AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM HERE.
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JIYUE ZHANG
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FOR OVER 30 YEARS JIYUE HAS BEEN AT THE CENTER OF ALL MAJOR EXPEDITIONS TO THE TIBETAN PLATEAU. GUIDING THE FIRST BIG RIVER DESCENTS, ORGANIZING THE BIGGEST CLIMBING TRIPS, LEADING THE MOST HIGH PROFILE RESCUES & JUGGLING THE ENDLESS PERMITS, FEW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AS INVOLVED IN THE OPENING UP OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU AS HE HAS. JIYUE IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TEAMS ON THE MOUNTAIN AND THE CHINESE MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION, AND OVER THE COURSE OF OUR TRIPS HAS ARRANGED EVERYTHING FROM SUDDEN & REMOTE PICK UPS, TO SENDING CRAMPONS TO BASECAMP, TO HOSTING BANQUETS FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIMBING ROYALTY. IF IT’S POSSIBLE IN TIBET, JIYUE IS PROBABLY RESPONSIBLE.
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WE MET BENJI AT A GFA MEETING (GEAR FREAKS ANONYMOUS) WHERE HIS APPETITE FOR 1000FP DOWN AND DYNEEMS SHOCKED EVEN OUR JADED SENSES. SO WE EMPLOYED HIM. FAST ON THE MOUNTAIN, FEARLESS IN THE RESTAURANTS AND IMMUNE TO FATIGUE, HE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE EMERGING GENERATION OF CLIMBERS ACTIVELY ESCHEWING THE MESS OF COMMERCIAL CLIMBING. SPENDING MOST OF THE YEAR IN THE LESSER KNOWN RANGES OF NORTH ASIA, HE PUSHES THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOW TRIPS CAN BE RUN WITH A MIX OF RETHINKING LOGISTICS AND EQUIPMENT DESIGN. DUE TO A GLITCH IN INDUSTRIAL LAWS WE PAY HIM IN STICKERS AND SPINNAKER TAPE.
*NOT ALL OF THE ABOVE MAY BE TRUE.
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THE LOCALS
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FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS WOULD BE NOWHERE IF NOT FOR THE COUNTLESS LOCAL PERSONALITIES WE SPEND OUR TIME WITH. AS ALIEN TO US AS WE ARE TO THEM, THE PEOPLE OF XINJIANG, TIBET & CHINA ARE THE STARS OF THE SHOW. ALMOST ALWAYS WELCOMING, IN TURN WE APPROACH THEIR HOMELANDS WITH CURIOSITY AND RESPECT. THE LOCALS AROUND US – THE CAMEL DRIVERS, LIAISION OFFICERS, DRIVERS AND AUTHORITIES – WE RUN WITH AS FRIENDS, PROBABLY LEARNING MORE FROM THEM THAN THEY DO FROM US.
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WE KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO SECURE PERMITS & LOGISTICS IN CHINA, WHERE TO SOURCE LAKSA PASTE & GENUINE CLIMBING GEAR, AND HOW TO NAVIGATE THE UNIQUE MATTERS THAT COME WITH RUNNING EXTENDED TRIPS IN PLACES THAT DON’T HAVE A COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY TO CATER TO IT. CONTRARY TO THE BELIEF THE CHINESE SYSTEM IS DIFFICULT TO APPROACH, WHEN DONE CORRECTLY, IT IS EFFICIENT, HIGHLY ORGANIZED & OPENS UP INCREDIBLE POSSIBILITIES.
WE ALSO KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO CROSS DESERTS & RAGING RIVERS, SPEND MONTHS AT HIGH ALTITUDE, CLIMB TECHNICAL FIRST ASCENTS IN WINTER, RECCE UNSEEN PEAKS AND APPROACH BIG OBJECTIVES WITH MINIMAL DATA AND MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF GEAR. DECADES IN THE GREATER RANGES OF NORTH ASIA HAS GIVEN US THE EXPERIENCE TO BEGIN WHERE THE BIG COMMERCIAL CLIMBING INDUSTRY ELSEWHERE ENDS.
RUNNING OUR TRIPS TAKES A MUCH BROADER SKILL BASE THAN IS FOUND IN PLACES WITH EXISTING COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIES BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE IGNORE THE STANDARDS EVERYBODY ALREADY USES. OUR TRIPS ARE EXECUTED WITH QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDING
- IFMGA ACCREDITATION
- AMGA ACCREDITATION
- CHINA MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION AUTHORIZATION
- WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER
- WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER HIGH ALTITUDE
- COMBAT FIRST AIDER
- CIC GUIDE ACCREDITATION
- IRATA ROPE ACCESS ACCREDITATION
TRIPS ORGANIZED BY OUR PARTNERSHIP REGULARLY FEATURE IN THE INTERNATIONAL CLIMBING MEDIA, INCLUDING REPORTS IN ALPINIST MAGAZINE, ARTICLES IN THE AMERICAN ALPINE JOURNAL AND NOMINATIONS FOR THE PIOLET D’OR AWARD.
