Category: CRITICAL THINKING
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AVOIDING PURGATORY: BASECAMP-LESS ASCENTS
OVER OUR TIME IN TIBET AND XINJIANG WE HAVE CLIMBED THIS WAY FOR FIRST ASCENTS, EXPLORATORY ASCENTS, ASCENTS INTO VERY CONTENTIOUS AREAS, MULTI-PEAK TRIPS AND OF COURSE LOTS OF ASCENTS TO ESTABLISHED AREAS DONE IN MORE EFFICIENT WAYS. WHILE WE WILL NEVER CLAIM TO HAVE ORIGINATED THE CONCEPTS WE WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE OWNED…
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THE SNOW LEOPARD TRUST. SHARING THE MOUNTAINS WITH THE COOLEST ANIMALS ON EARTH
WE KNOW HALF A DOZEN CLIMBERS WEARING T-SHIRTS MIGHT NOT REVERSE THE IMPACT PEOPLE HAVE ON THE WORLD, BUT RATHER THAN GIVE THAT SPACE TO THE NORTH FACE AND RAB WE THINK WE CAN DO SOMETHING BETTER WITH IT. WE KNOW THE WAY T-SHIRTS CONTRIBUTE TO BANDS, BRANDS, POLITICS AND TEAMS, SO IF THIS GETS…
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THE LANGUAGES OF CLIMBING
OFTEN WE HARKEN BACK TO THE ERA OF THE 80s BECAUSE IT WAS A TIME WHEN HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING WAS STILL RADICAL AND FUELLED BY STRONG IDEAS. BEFORE BEING DILUTED BY THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS, BASECAMPS AT THAT TIME WERE PRESSURE COOKERS OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, CROSS-POLLINATING IDEAS AND LANGUAGES AND WITH IT WAYS AND REASONS TO…
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THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE.
IT IS CLEAR THAT MEDIA CHANNELS HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS, WHERE THE FORMAT DECIDES WHAT GETS ATTENTION. INSTAGRAM WORKS WELL FOR EVEREST AND K2 BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE POPULAR IMAGINATION, BUT AN OBSCURE 7000m PEAK IN CENTRAL ASIA EXCITES A WHOLE OTHER CROWD WHO LIKE SIFTING THROUGH GOOGLE EARTH AND JOURNALS. BOTH…
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ASIA OVERLAND. BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS THE BOOK FOR ANY CLIMBER WHO WANTS GET INTO THE ASPECTS OF EXPEDITIONS BEHIND THE CLIMBING, AND INTO THE FUNDAMENTAL LANDSCAPE WHERE CLIMBING TAKES PLACE. IF MCLUHAN WAS RIGHT SAYING THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE, THEN FOLLOWING THE SAME FORMATS TO THE SAME PLACES NEVER WILL PROGRESS ALPINISM, YET NO OTHER BOOK DOCUMENTS…
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FUTURISTIC SHELTERs FOR FUTURISTIC PLACES
ACTUAL DETAILS WILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL AFTER WINTER, BUT WHAT WE WANTED WAS A SHELTER THAT WOULD COVER 3 CLIMBERS, THAT WEIGHED UNDER 300g, COULD COPE WITH HIMALAYAN STORMS, WAS VISIBLE FROM 5km AWAY, THAT RIGS EASILY AND IS IDIOT-PROOF TO HANDLE, AND COULD BE USED AS A SNOW HAMMOCK BOTH AS ITSELF AND…
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THE 10 ESSENTIALS* OF HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINE CLIMBING
AS ALWAYS, NONE OF THIS MEANS ANYTHING WITHOUT REAL WORLD USE AND GOING THROUGH THE GRINDER OF RAW EXPERIENCE. ALPINISM HAS DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS AND DIFFERS BETWEEN HOW IT READS ON PAPER AND HOW IT PLAYS OUT, AND THOUGH WE MAY NOT BE SURE WHAT IT'S DEFINED BY, WE KNOW WHAT IT ISN'T.
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HEAT EXCHANGER POTS FOR HIGH ALTITUDE
FOR HIGH ALTITUDE COOKING & MELTING A LOT OF NOISE IS MADE ABOUT THE STOVE, WHICH THOUGH IMPERATIVE IS ONLY HALF THE SYSTEM. THE BEST STOVE UNDER WRONG POT WILL STILL SEE UNBURNED GAS WASTING AWAY, AND A SYSTEM BURNING INEFFICENTLY WITH YOUR PRECIOUS FUEL.
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THE TRADITION OF NO TRADITION
ABSENCE OF TRADITION WE SEE AS THE BEST WAY FORWARD IN ALPINE CLIMBING, BY SHRUGGING OFF INDUSTRIES AND COMMENTATORS THAT ARE ALL TOO WILLING TO DO THE THINKING FOR YOU. WE THINK THE GREAT TRADITION OF CLIMBING HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THE TRADITION TO CAST OFF THE TRADITIONS OF BEFORE, AND THAT THAT TAKES LOCATIONS AND…
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IRIDIUM SYSTEM BLOCKED IN CHINA
DUE TO THE TRADE WAR BETWEEN THE US AND CHINA, AMONG OTHER THINGS THEY HAVE ADDED CHINA TO THE BLACKLIST THAT ALSO INCLUDES THE USUAL SUSPECTS LIKE IRAN, NORTH KOREA AND CUBA AND STRANGELY, INDIA (BUT INTERESTINGLY NOT RUSSIA....). THIS MEANS IF YOUR BEACON OR ALERT DEVICE USES IRIDIUM IT WON'T WORK WHICH IS A…
