CRITICAL THINKING

GEAR IS TOO LIGHT WHEN IT DOESN’T FUNCTION TO THE NECESSARY STANDARD, WHICH INCLUDES DURABILITY, SCOPE OF USE, STRENGTH AND REDUNDANCY. IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT NO CLIMBING GEAR IS MADE INTENTIONALLY HEAVY, MEANING THAT STUFF THAT IS BUILT FOR PURPOSE HAS NO NEED TO BE REPLACED BY SOMETHING THAT ISN’T.

THE QUALITY OF YOUR EXPEDITION DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR IDEAS, BALANCED AND INFORMED BY A MIX OF MEDIA AND REFERENCES. IT IS INTEGRAL TO LOOK AT WHICH SOURCES YOU IDEAS COME FROM, SO YOU CAN EXTRAPOLATE HOW YOU WILL GO WHEN YOU ARE FINALLY OUT THERE

ON OUR TRIPS IT’S TIME TO SHRUG OFF MANY OUTDATED IDEAS, INCLUDING THAT OF THE DUFFEL-LADEN TRAVELLER PUSHING A HUGE CART THROUGH ARRIVALS. THE CLIMBER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MODERN EQUIPMENT, STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES APPEARS NOTHING LIKE THE HIGH-ALTITUDE TOURISTS SHOWING UP IN KATHMANDU, AND THE CONTENTS OF THEIR LUGGAGE REFLECTS THIS IN MORE STREAMLINED AND FOCUSED LOADS.

ALONG SIDE SEVERAL OTHER VARIANTS OF THE BRAND, MOST AIMED AT STREETWEAR, FESTIVALS, OR BIZARRE CONCEPT MARKETS, THE NORTH FACE JAPAN SUMMIT SERIES IS THAT TROVE OF SPECIALIST STUFF THAT YOU HAVE PROBABLY BEEN LOOKING FOR. WHERE THE FAMED/NOTORIOUS ADVANCED MOUNTAIN KIT SERIES CAME AND WENT WITHOUT NOTICE ELSEWHERE, IN JAPAN IT IS ON THE SHELVES, AND HAS SPROUTED ALL SORTS OF ADD-ONS USING THE TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS THAT COME WITH IT.

THE SAD FACT IS, MOST HIGH ALT DOWN JACKETS THESE DAYS ARE MADE FOR STANDING IN LINE ON A FIXED ROPE. THEY ARE DECKED OUT IN ‘FEATURES’ THAY MAY OR MAY NOT BE NECESSARY, SUCH AS COUNTLESS ZIPPERS, COUNTLESS POCKETS, FIELDS OF VELCRO, FLAPS ON EVERYTHING AND NIFTY THINGS LIKE HEAT PACK POCKETS AND EAR BUD PORTS. THESE THINGS OF COURSE ALL ADD WEIGHT, TO JACKETS ALREADY HEAVY, BECAUSE BY THEIR NATURE THEY HAVE TO HIT A PRICE POINT THAT WON’T ACCEPT THE HIGHEST QUALITY DOWN (USUALLY BEING ABOUT EURO 700). THEY HAVE HEAVY DUTY FABRICS APPARENTLY FOR THE ABRASION THEY MUST ENDURE, AND ARE MADE TO BE THE PRIMARY LAYER YOMPED UP TO CAMP 4 AND WORN NON-STOP ABOVE IT

KNOWING YOU HAVE A GOOD DESCENT ABILITY MAKES THE TAIL END OF A CLIMB FEEL SECURE. KNOWING YOU DON’T IS INEXCUSABLE AND EXACTLY THE WRONG PLACE TO HAVE UNKNOWNS.

WE KNOW WE CAN’T SAVE THE WORLD, BUT WE CAN DO WHAT WE CAN FROM THE SMALL NICHE WE INHABIT, ESPECIALLY AS WE INHABIT ONE WHERE CHANGES ARE DRAMATICALLY FELT. WE FIND IT HYSTERICAL THAT CERTAIN HUGE COMPANIES FAWN OVER ‘1% FOR THE PLANET’, WHEN IT IS THEIR OWN SUPPLY CHAINS, PRODUCTION, LABOR PROTOCOLS AND CONTRACTING PROCESSES THAT DEFINE THE BAD PRACTICES SUCH AN EMPTY STATEMENT PRETENDS TO ADDRESS. THIS IS OUR WAY OF SPREADING THE PROCESS OF UNFUCKING AS FAR AS WE CAN, BEYOND OUR OWN SPECIFIC NICHE AND OUT WHERE IT’S NEEDED.

IN AN INDUSTRY LOST TO SLEAZY COMMERCIALISM WE RESORT TO THE LAST BASTION OF ALTERNATIVE MARKETING – THE ‘BAND SHIRT’ AND STICKERS. WE DON’T SPEND ON POP UPS, SCROLLING BANNERS, SPONSORED POSTS AND TRADE SHOWS, INSTEAD OUR INFLUENCERS ARE GRIMEY PACKS BEING PUSHED THROUGH ARRIVALS, FADED SHIRTS AT THE CRAG, AND PEELING AND MELTED STICKERS ON WATERBOTTLES, ICE TOOLS AND COOKING POTS BEING USED BY REAL CLIMBERS WHO KNOW WHAT REAL EXPEDITIONS ARE ABOUT.

CONTRARY TO THE DISTOPIAN FANTASIES SOME HAVE ABOUT CHINA AND TIBET, THESE LADIES RUN THEIR OWN BUSINESSES FREE FROM STATE INTERFERENCE, CULTURAL INTERFERENCE AND THE INTERFERENCE OF TIBETAN MEN. IF CAPITALISM CAN BE SEEN TO WORK THEN THIS IS THE EXAMPLE, AS WE PAY GOOD LIVING WAGES DIRECTLY INTO THEIR HANDS, AS WE HAVE DONE FOR WELL OVER A DECADE.

NORTH SIDES OF PEAKS, ON THE NORTH SIDES OF THE RANGES, UP ON THE NORTHERN PLATEAU AND IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE GREAT DIVIDE. PLAY WITH THE SEMANTICS OF WHAT WINTER MAY MEAN IF YOU MUST, BUT ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN OUT THERE KNOWS THE PETTINESS IS CONFINED WITH THE SOUTHERN, LOWER LATITUDES, AND THAT ‘NORTH’ SOMEWHERE LIKE THE GASHERBRUMS IS A DIFFERENT PARADIGM THAT FEW PERCEIVE IN SUMMER LET ALONE EARLY JANUARY.