Category: TRIPS & EXPEDITIONS

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.

ONCE MODIFIED, THESE ARE THE BEST APPROACH FOOTWEAR FOR OUR TRIPS WE’VE KNOWN IN YEARS. WE NOW WEAR THEM IN ON THE FLIGHT AS OUR ONLY BOOTS OTHER THAN DOUBLES, FINDING THEM LIGHT ENOUGH AROUND TOWN AND EASILY RUGGED ENOUGH RIGHT UP TO WHERE IT’S TOO COLD. A CASE COULD BE MADE FOR PAIRING THESE WITH AN OVERBOOT FOR SOME STUFF, AND WE HAVE WORN THEM TO JUST OVER 5000m OF MIXED ALPINE CLIMBING IN EARLY SPRING.

SHORT FIXING IS WELL WITHIN THE PARADIGM OF ALPINISM, AND DOES NOT REDUCE ACTUAL CLIMBING TO ASSISTED VIA FERRATA. YOU STILL NEED TWO TOOLS, YOU STILL ACTUALLY CLIMB, BUT IT SPEEDS THINGS UP BY REDUCING THE TIME SPENT ON PITCHING. IT TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF THE SECONDING CLIMBERS EFFORT WHICH HELPS KEEP FRIED MINDS BACK FROM THE EDGE, THOUGH THIS MENTAL SEMI-REST IS BALANCED BY THE SECONDS BEING ABLE TO CLIMB WITH SIGNIFICANTLY MORE WEIGHT. WHEN USED ACROSS A SMALL TEAM THIS MAKES FOR PERHAPS THE BEST WEIGHT-SPEED RATIO OF ANY HIGH ALTITUDE STYLE.

WE HAVE RUN TRIPS THROUGH CHENGDU FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, AND GOING BACK TO THE 1980s EVERY MAIN EXPEDITION TO TIBET HAS STAGED FROM HERE. THE HISTORY OF CLIMBING NORTH OF THE HIMALAYA ADORNS THE HOTELS AND GEAR SHOPS OF CHENGDU, HAVING HOSTED MANY OF THE GREAT ALPINISTS HEADING WESTWARD TO TIBET.