CRITICAL THINKING

WE RUN THE ONLY Mt FUJI WINTER CLIMBING TRIPS, BASED ON A MIX OF JAPAN AND HIMALAYAN EXPERIENCE. MOST PEOPLE READING THIS WILL HAVE HEARD OF JAPANESE CLIMBERS, BUT ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS THE ALPINE CLIMBING IN JAPAN THEY COME FROM. FOR EXAMPLE ALMOST NO ONE RECOGNIZES THE BLURRY IMAGE IN THE PHOTO SHOWN ABOVE, SHOWING A SIDE OF MT FUJI FAR REMOVED FROM THE TOURIST VERSION, HOME TO SOME VERY SERIOUS ROUTES. WE FIND JAPANS CLIMBING TRADITIONS SO UNIQUE AND FASCINATING WE DECIDED TO BASE FROM THERE, TO INTRODUCE FOREIGN CLIMBERS TO THE MOST UNIQUE STUFF THEY’VE NEVER HEARD OF.

EXPEDITION CULTURE HAS ALWAYS HAD THE COMBINING OF NEW IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGIES AT THE CORE, AND UNLIKE SOME CULTURES IS WELCOMING TO BIG IDEAS, AUDACITY, GOING AGAINST CONVENTION AND A ‘MEANS OVER ENDS’ MENTALITY. EXPEDITION CULTURE ALSO HAS A HISTORY OF WILD THEORIES, STRANGE REASONS, UNTESTED HYPOTHESES, BIZARRE CLAIMS AND COINCIDENCES, MAKING IT AS MUCH A CULTURE FOR HARDENED ADVENTURERS AS FOR ROMANTICS, SKEPTICS AND MISFITS

IN THE LEAD UP TO OUR RETURN TO K2 IN 2024 WE ARE UPDATING THE ENTIRE FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS SITE, INCLUDING A WINNOWING AND REVITALIZING OF ARTICLES WE HAVE HAD UP FOR YEARS. WE ARE RECASTING THEM AS DANGEROUS IDEAS, NOT JUST FOR THE SEMANTIC STUNT, BUT BECAUSE EVERY SEASON AS 8000m CLIMBING DEVOLVES ELSEWHERE WHAT WE THINK AND DO SEEMS EVER MORE RADICAL

FEW COMPANIES INNOVATE AT THE RATE ELITECLIMB DOES – AND THOSE THAT DO WE ALSO PARTNER WITH TO DEVELOP THE HIGHEST FUNCTION EXPEDITION ALPINE EQUIPMENT POSSIBLE. WHAT ELITECLIMB AND THEIR ILK HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY FIND SOLUTIONS TO THINGS THE BIGGER INDUSTRY IGNORES, TAPPING IN TO A LEADING EDGE THAT’S DOING STUFF AT THE HEAD OF THE CURVE

WE REFER TO OURSELVES AS WORKING CLIMBERS. NOT PROFESSIONALS. NOT SPONSORED. NOT GUIDES, NOT ATHELETES. NOT AMBASSADORS. THOUGH THOSE TITLES MAY FIT OTHERS, NONE OF THEM FIT WHAT WE DO, BEING AT ONCE TOO POSTURING, BUT THEN ALSO NOT POSTURING ENOUGH.

*THIS REVIEW FOLLOWS OUR NEW REVIEW FORMAT FOR BOOKS. PART OF OUR GENERAL STREAMLINING ACROSS THE TRIPS & WEBSITE NOW WE ACTUALLY GET ENOUGH ATTENTION TO WARRANT IT. THIS BOOK IS GOOD BUT NOT BRILLIANT, A COOL READ BUT NOT NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE OUR PRESCRIBED READING LIST. AS A DABBLE INTO MANY THINGS, NOT…
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ROLL A FEW OF THESE BABIES THROUGH AN AIRPORT AND NO ONE MISTAKES YOU FOR JUST ANOTHER TOURIST, OUR CUSTOM TEAMSTER SOFT BARRELS CHANGE THE EXPEDITION CONTINUUM ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

OUR OPERATION MEANS IT’S THE SAME PEOPLE TAKING THE EMAILS AS CLIMBING ON THE MOUNTAIN, AND BY THE TIME YOU ROLL THROUGH ARRIVALS THERE WILL ALREADY BE A RELATIONSHIP. AS A TEAM – A REAL TEAM – YOU HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PLANNING, WITH NO NAMELESS MINIONS IN THE SHADOWS OR HIDDEN SURPRISES. THIS MEANS WE ARE ALL REAL PEOPLE, WHO WORK TOGETHER FROM THE FIRST EMAIL. READING THESE WORDS MAY EVENTUATE WITH US BEING TOGETHER ON THE MOUNTAIN, SO FOR SOME THE TEAM BEGINS NOW

OUR TRIPS ALREADY HAVE THE BEST FOOD OF ANY EXPEDITIONS GOING, THE CUISINE OF CHINA, TIBET AND XINJIANG GUARANTEE IT, AS DOES THE AVAILABILITY OF RESTAURANT-GRADE SOURCES THAT MEANS WE EASILY COVER THE NEEDS OF HUNGRY CLIMBERS. BUT, ONCE ON THE MOUNTAIN EVERYONES NUTRITION AND CONDITION IS THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITY. THE SUPPLEMENTS LISTED HERE ARE THE ONES WE SEE WORK

THE POINT OF ALL THIS IS NOT TO MASTURBATE OVER NUMBERS, CREATING DREAM GEAR LISTS, OR USING THEM TO REWRITE THE PAST. THE POINT IS TO USE THEM TO PROJECT FORWARD, TO SEE WHERE CLIMBING CAN GO, BY MATCHING THEM WITH OTHER FACTORS LIKE TRAINING, CLIMATE AND ACCESS TO PICK WHAT THE NEXT GENERATION CAN PLAY WITH.