Category: TRIPS & EXPEDITIONS

THE ONE THING WE WILL SAY IS THAT THE TRAINING OUTLINED HITS HARD, AND DOESN’T MINCE WORDS WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT ENDURANCE MEANS. THIS IS THE STUFF YOU WOULD WISH YOU HAD DONE ALL THOSE TIMES WHEN FACED WITH YOUR LIMITS, AND CONCERNS THE TEARING OF REALITY OUT BEYOND WHERE MOST – MAYBE ALL – OTHER DEFINITIONS OF ENDURANCE END.

THE TRIPS OUTLINED HERE ARE NOT ONLY ALL HAPPENING – THEY ARE CONFIRMED, SCHEDULED AND BOOKED – BUT ARE ALL UNIQUE, TRUE EXPEDITIONS, INTO PLACES RARELY IF EVER VISITED. SOME OF THESE TRIPS ARE CLOSED, TEAMS FINALIZED MONTHS AGO, BUT OTHERS STILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO JOIN OR TO ADAPT INTO THEIR OWN OBJECTIVES.

THE NORDA 001s MAY JUST BE THE BEST CHECK-IN TO GLACIER SHOE AROUND, NONE OF WHICH THEY REALLY MARKET FOR BUT WHICH LOOMS LARGE IN THE THINGS WE LIKE. A CLIMBER COULD MAKE THESE THEIR ONLY SHOES ON A TRIP OTHER THAN THEIR BIG BOOTS IF THEY WERE TO TRAVEL VERY LIGHT AND DIRECT ONTO THE RIGHT SORT OF OBJECTIVE.

WE TAKE OUR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS VERY SERIOUSLY, AND JUST LIKE OUR EXPEDITIONS AND CLIMBING TEAMS, DO THINGS AT A TEMPO OF ENTHUSIASM AND INNOVATION THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN GET ON BOARD WITH

WHAT WAS IT ARTHUR C. CLARKE SAID…THAT THE ONLY WAY TO DISCOVER LIMITS IS TO VENTURE PAST THEM, AND THAT ANYTHING SUFFICIENTLY ADVANCED IS INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM MAGIC?

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ‘JUST’ FROSTBITE, AND THE HISTORY OF HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING IS THE HISTORY OF LOSING BODY PARTS TO THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE AND COLD. READ ANY ACCOUNTS AND MENTION OF FEET GETTING DANGEROUSLY COLD IS ALMOST GUARANTEED, WITH ENOUGH TALES OF BAD OUTCOMES TO MAKE THE POINT

AMERICANS HAVE BROUGHT MUCH TO ALPINISM, AND WE WILL GO SO FAR TO SAY THE BEAK MAY BE THEIR GREATEST CONTRIBUTION, FROM THE CAULDRON OF YOSEMITE THAT RAISED THE BEAK FROM OBSCURITY TO BECOME A PILLAR OF BIG WALLS AND BY ASSOCIATION BIG ALPINE. AN ARRAY OF VARIATIONS SPANNING THE WALMART MASS PRODUCTION OF BLACK DIAMOND TO THE ESOTERIC GENIUS OF PIKA AND MOSES EXIST, WITH BEARTOOTH BEING THE FIRST TRUE ALPINE DESIGN.

SAN FRONTIERES MEANS TO LOOK AT PLACES ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES THAT ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY CONVENTIONAL BORDERS. ALL BORDERS AND LIMITS ARE SEEN AS ARBITARY CONVENTIONS, SOME MORE CONTRIVED THAN OTHERS, THAT OFTEN RESULT IN BLINDSPOTS OVER OTHERWISE NOBLE AND EXCITING POSSIBILITIES. HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THIS, THE PRESENT PARADIGM BEING THE RESULT OF ABSTRACT BORDERS, NOT NATURAL ONES, THAT HAVE BEEN CONTESTED MORE BY POLITICS AND INDUSTRY THAN BY CLIMBERS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW CLIMBING BOOKS WE CAME AWAY FROM SATISFIED, NOT FEELING WE HAD BEEN GIVEN JUST HALF THE TALE BECAUSE THE GOOD STUFF WAS LEFT OUT IN FEAR OF BORING A GENERAL AUDIENCE

IT MAY BE THE COFFEE TALKING, BUT WE THINK THESE UPGRADES ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ANY GEAR WE USE, AND ARE AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS FOR WHAT A TOP LEVEL DESIGN PROCESS CAN BE