CRITICAL THINKING

OUR DIALOGUE WITH THE AUTHORITIES HAS BEEN AN EXPEDITION IN ITSELF, AS WE SINGLE-HANDEDLY REOPENED THE CHINA SIDE OF THE KARAKORAM TO CLIMBERS. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN IT APPEARED THINGS WERE GOOD TO GO ONLY TO BE CLOSED AGAIN, OR FOR THE CLIMBING COMMUNITY TO HAVE NO UPTAKE AS THINGS HAVE STALLED OR BEEN DISTRACTED THERE. THROUGHOUT ALL THIS, IN CONCERT WITH OTHER EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, WE KEPT INNOVATING AND REFINING AND TESTING, FOR THE TIME WHEN ALL THE PIECES CONVERGED TO OCCUR

ON ALL OUR TRIPS WE ADVOCATE LAYING OUT THE STUFF TO BE USED, THEN BITS REMOVED TO SCRAPE DOWN TO THE MINIMUM THAT CAN BE GOT AWAY WITH. AS THE PEOPLE ARE WHAT SETS THE EXPEDITION – NOT THE GEAR – EXTRA STUFF WON’T MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE, WITH SIMPLICITY TELLING US MORE ABOUT A CLIMBER THAN HIDING ISSUES BEHIND A VEIL OF COMPLEXITY.

THE ACID TEST OF ANY CLIMBER IS HOW THEY RESPOND TO THE SUBJECT OF PISS BOTTLES. ONLY THOSE* WHO HAVE SPENT BAD NIGHTS IN OPEN BIVYS, SWAYING PORTALEDGES, TIED IN TO CRAMPED LEDGES AND STUFFED INTO TINY TENTS KNOW THE CRITERIA TO WHICH A GOOD PISS BOTTLE MUST BE HELD, AND HOW EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT IT IS TO FIND ONE THAT MEETS EXPECTATIONS. LIKE A GOOD CUP, THERE IS NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR THE RIGHT ONE, AND THE IDEA OF JUST GRABBING A GATORADE BOTTLE AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT ON THE WAY OUT OF TOWN IS THE CLEAREST SIGN OF AMATEURISM THAT EXISTS IN THE SPORT

WHAT APPEARS CRAZY TO THE PASSING OBSERVER CAN ACTUALLY BE CAREFULLY AND LOGICALLY PLANNED WITH A GREAT DEAL OF CONTINGENCY, EVEN TAKING WHAT APPEAR AS RISKS AND RETOOLING THINGS TO MAKE THEM SAFE. WE ALLOW THE ARMCHAIR GALLERY TO THINK ALL THIS IS MENTAL, THAT WE ARE COURTING DANGER OR INVITING CATASTROPHY, WHILST WE GET ON WITH THE VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS OF EXECUTING TRIPS TO PLACES WITH AN EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH LEVEL OF MITIGATION

IN A BIG WAY, ALPINISM IS VERY EXPERIMENTAL, WITH EVERY NEW ROUTE OR FIRST ATTEMPT AND EXPERIMENT IN TAKING ALREADY KNOWN FACTORS A BIT FURTHER. ALPINISM IS INHERENTLY EQUATION-BASED WHETHER IT BE STOVE FUEL, ALTITUDE GAIN, INSULATION OR COUNTLESS OTHER THINGS, SO GETTING SMARTER IS TO MAKE THIS EXPERIMENT OPEN ENDED RATHER THAN CONVERGENT ON A LIMIT

WE NOW HAVE THE LIGHTEST AND MOST FUNCTIONAL HIGH ALTITUDE EQUIPMENT EVER ASSEMBLED, TO GO AND CLIMB WHEN AND WHERE THE RULES FROM ELSEWHERE DON’T APPLY. ALL THAT STUFF YOU SEE USED ON EVEREST etc IS FINE, BUT IT DOESN’T DO WHAT WE NEED IN THE NORTHERN KARAKORAM IN LATE AUTUMN. THE STUFF WE HAVE SPEAKS HUGELY OF THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT, AS THE DYNAMIC WAYS FORWARD IN AN INDUSTRY OTHERWISE GRINDING AWAY MOSTLY ON FUMES.

JOHNS RADICAL INITIATIVES OVER PROTEST, OPEN SOURCING, EXPEDITION IDEAS AND HANDS-ON WORK WE SHARE, PROTECTING WILDERNESS, DESIGNING BETTER, AND GOING FURTHER BY OUR OWN STEAM ARE ALL STANDARDS WE UPHOLD WITH ALL THE OTHER COMPANIES WE COLLABORATE WITH. AS SAD AS IT IS TO KNOW HE’S NOT OUT THERE TINKERING AWAY AND EXPERIMENTING, IT’S GOOD TO KNOW THAT EVERY BIG WALL HAS HIS DNA IN IT

THIS SITE TRANSLATES INTO THE 12 LANGUAGES WE SEE THE MOST ENQUIRIES FROM, AND OBVIOUSLY GOOGLE CAN TRANSLATE IT INTO HUNDREDS MORE (EXCEPT TIBETAN WHICH ANNOYS US). THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE RESOURCE THAT HAS THE CAPACITY TO EVOLVE CLIMBING AS MUCH AS ANY GEAR OR TRAINING CAN, BY CLIMBERS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES TEAMING UP TO BRING WHAT THEIR IDEAS, TRADITIONS AND PERSPECTIVES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE GAME.

WE TEAMED UP WITH PARBAT ABOUT A YEAR AGO, AROUND THE SAME TIME WE BECAME AWARE OF ALUULA COMPOSITES, AND TO FINALLY SEE THE CONVERGENCE OF THE TWO IS EXCITING STUFF, CHANGING – AGAIN – THE WAY WE RUN EXPEDITIONS. IF WE CAN CARRY MORE STUFF FURTHER, MORE SECURELY, WITH MORE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY THEN WE CAN CLIMB MORE REMOTE STUFF WITH LESS RELIANCE. THIS IS THE PRIME DIRECTIVE THAT DRIVES ALL ALPINISM, AND ANYTHING THAT ENHANCES THAT WE WORK WITH.

THE NORTH KARAKORUM IS THE LAST REMAINING TRUE 8000m WILDERNESS AREA. VERY, VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OUT THERE IN THE LAST 15 YEARS, AND EVEN BEFORE THAT IT WAS RARELY VISITED. DESPITE SOME BAD BEHAVIOUR AROUND K2 NORTH SIDE BASECAMP IN THE 1990s THAT LEFT BEHIND TRASH OF THE ERA, THERE’S VERY LITTLE DEBRIS FROM EXPEDITIONS OUT THERE AND EFFECTIVELY NONE AWAY FROM K2.