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WITHIN OUR LIFETIMES THE BASECAMPS AND ROUTES OF ALMOST ALL 8000m AREAS WILL REMAIN HIGH ALTITUDE TOILETS AND PILES OF TRASH. CLIMBERS HAVE DONE THIS. FOR ONCE WE CN’T BLAME THE OIL INDUSTRY, OR ARMS DEALERS, OR FILTHY FACTORIES, OR THE UNKNOWING MASSES, INSTEAD WE MUST BLAME AFFLUENT CLIMBERS, CORRUPT AUTHORITIES, AND THE PROTECTIONIST LOCAL COMPANIES THAT ASSIST BOTH.
IGNORANCE IS NO PLEA ON THIS. THIS EXACT MATTER WAS BEING RAISED IN THE 1980s, AND ASIDE FROM A FEW TOKEN MEASURES CLEARLY NOTHING WAS DONE. IN FACT IT WAS WORSENED BY MORE HELICOPTERS FERRYING MORE PEOPLE AND STUFF, MAKING BIGGER FOOTPRINTS IN PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN DIMINISHING BY VARIOUS VECTORS AS CLIMATE CHANGES. PEOPLE CAN SAY WHAT THEY WANT FROM THEIR LOWLAND KEYBOARDS, BUT ANYONE AROUND GLACIERS AND ALPINE AREAS LONG ENOUGH HAS SEEN THEM CHANGE OVERTLY.
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WHAT WE CAN DO IS PROTECT THE VERY FEW UNSPOILT 8000m AREAS, BUT UNCOMPROMISINGLY AVOIDING THE MISTAKES WE KNEW FOR 40 YEARS WE WERE MAKING. RATHER THAN CLIMB THE WORLDS HIGHEST PEAKS IGNORING THE IMPACT IT HAS, WE CAN MAKE IT THE EXAMPLE OF HOW TO DO THINGS BETTER.
ALL OF THE SOLUTIONS CURRENTLY EXIST FOR THOSE WILLING TO USE THEM, THEY JUST NEED TO BE PUT TOGETHER AND STREAMLINED. THIS IS SOMETHING ANY COMPANY COULD DO, BUT IN EXPLOITATION-BASED ECONOMIES IT IS CHEAPER TO ALIGN COSTS WITH DOLLAR-A-DAY LABOR THAN LONG TERM EXPENDITURE.
FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS PARADIGM FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. WHAT STARTED AS SHEER NECESSITY HAS NOW BECOME MOTIVATED BY PROVING A POINT AND DISDAIN FOR THE INDUSTRY WE ARE RELUCTANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH. WE ALREADY REJECT ANY CLIMBER WHO CAN’T APPRECIATE THIS ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WITH LIMITED TIME AND INTENT TO DEAL WITH THEM WE CA SPENT THAT ENERGY ELSEWHERE.
THIS IS WHAT WE DO.
FEWER FLIGHTS
IN NORMAL TIMES, CHINA’S GATEWAY CITIES ARE USUALLY 1 OR 2 FEWER FLIGHTS TO GET TO, WITH A SINGLE DOMESTIC FLIGHT TO GET US TO THE FRONTIERS IN XINJIANG. IT’S NOT IDEAL BUT IT’S A START, AND BEING THE BIGGEST POLLUTER OF THE TRIP, ANY CHANGES MADE HERE MATTER MOST.
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EFFECTIVE OFFSETS
WE KNOW 99% OF CARBON OFFSETTING IS BULLSHIT, AND WE KNOW WHY, AND WE KNOW WHO TO BLAME. WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS FIND A PROGRAM THAT LITERALLY SWAPS OUT EMISSIONS PER UNIT FOR THE FLIGHTS, GAS, AND FUEL WE CONSUME, BY REPLACING COAL STOVES IN WESTERN CHINA. THIS NOT TREES THAT WILL GROW IN 40 YEARS, OR HYDRO STATIONS YET TO BE BUILT, BUT TANGIBLE STOVES THAT BURN AGRICULTURAL REFUSE. WE CAN GO SEE THEM AND ARE HAPPY TO SHOW ANYONE.
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ZERO EMISSION BASECAMPS
WE RUN OUR CAMPS ON SOLAR, WIND, AND ARE LOOKING AT MICRO-HYDRO. WORKING WITH A FRONTIER ENERGY COMPANY WE HAVE THE TECH AND SYSTEM, SO NO DIESEL GENERATORS OR STOVES. WE USE TECH FROM ASSORTED SOURCES INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE LIVING, OCEAN SAILING, AND DEFENCE.
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ZERO FOOTPRINT CAMPS
IF 30,000 PEOPLE CAN GO TO BURNING MAN EVERY YEAR AND REMOVE ALL TRACE, THEN TEN CLIMBERS CAN DO IT. WE DON’T DIG PITS, WE DON’Y MAKE WATER OR FIRE SCARS, WE DON’T DAMAGE THE SOIL OR GRASS, WE DON’T BUILD ROCK STRUCTURES, AND WE DON’T HANG FUCKING PRAY FLAGS EVERYWHERE. EVEN THOUGH OUR BASECAMPS HAVE BEEN USED BY HERDERS FOR CENTURIES, WE DON’T MAKE THEM OUR CAMPS BY HAULING IN A WHOLE CULTURE WITH US. WE SET THINGS UP CLOSE TO HOW THE HERDERS DO, WITH THEIR INSIGHTS, AND LEAVE THE PLACE PRISTINE.
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HYPER-EFFICIENT LOGISTICS
WE DON’T HAVE A CONSTANT PROCESSION OF HUMANS SCARRING THE LANDSCAPE CARRYING STUFF CONTINUOUSLY, DAMAGING THE CAMPSITES ALONG THE APPROACH, AND WEARING TRAILS INTO HILLSIDES THAT THEN ERODE.
WE HAVE THE ABSOLUTE PRIVELIDGE TO USE CAMELS FOR PORTAGE, NATIVE ANIMALS THAT ARE PART OF THE WILDLIFE AND THAT CARRY WAY MORE THAN SEVERAL HUMANS. THIS MASSIVELY REDUCES HUMAN IMPACT SIMPLY BY REMOVING 90% OF THE HUMANS FROM THE EQUATION.
WE GO IN IN ONE GROUP AND COME OUT AS ONE GROUP, IN BETWEEN USUALLY NO ONE GOES ALONG OUR TRAILS.
ON THE WAY OUT WE USE NEW VEHICLES ON SLICK HIGHWAYS, CUTTING TRANSIT TIMES IN HALF, AND AS OF 2024 WILL BE USING ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WHICH ALSO WORK BETTER AT ALTITUDE.
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MINIMAL TRASH
THE BEAUTY OF CHINA IS IT HAS LARGE SCALE COMMERCIAL OUTLETS, SO WE CAN GET MOST FOODS IN BULK AND SLASH THE PACKAGING AT THAT STAGE. FROM THERE WE REPACK MOST OF IT INTO EXPEDITION-PROOF CONTAINERS, DROPPING A MOUNTAIN OF TRASH WE’D ONLY HAVE TO CARRY OUT AGAIN.
MUCH OF OUR BC FOOD IS FRESH SO COMES FROM MARKETS WITH NO PACKAGING, AND WHAT TRASH WE GO HAVE IS TREATED, COMPACTED, AND PACKED HYGENICALLY. THIS INCLUDES ALL HUMAN WASTE – AGAIN THE BURNING MAN ETHIC – WHERE WE DON’T TREAT THE PLACE LIKE AN OPEN TOILET AND USE METHODS TO PERSONALIZE WASTE MANAGEMENT.
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WILDLIFE PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION
EVERY TRIP WITH FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS INCLUDES A CONTRIBUTION TO SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION, PLUS INJECTS PROFITS DIRECTLY INTO THE COMMUNITIES THAT MAINTAIN THE CAMELS, BOTH FOR THE CAMELS SAKE AND TO REDUCE THE RELIANCE ON AGRICULTURE THAN LEADS TO NASTY INTERFACES WITH ENDANGERED APEX WILDLIFE.
OUT THERE, WE RECORD WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS, AND REGULARLY OBSERVE BEARS, WOLVES, RABBITS, FOXES, AND OTTERS, WHICH INDICATE SNOW LEOPARDS ARE PROBABLY ABOUT BUT HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE.
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SUSTAINABLE GEAR
NO ONE TRASHES GEAR BETTER THAN WE DO, PUSHING THE LIMITS OF STUFF DESIGNED FOR MORE COMMERCIAL USE. SO WE HAVE GONE TO THE MAKERS OF THE MOST DURABLE STUFF THAT EXISTS, AND ARRANGED WHAT WE NEED JUST FOR OUR TEAMS.
OUR TENTS DON’T SHRED SO THEY DON’T GET ABANDONED ON ROUTES, OUR PACKS DON’T BURST SO THEY LAST GENERATIONS, NOT SEASONS, AND THE STOVES WE USE PUT OUR MORE HEAT FOR LESS FUEL AND EMISSIONS.
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COMMUNITY INTERACTION
WE DON’T USE EXPLOITED LABOR. PERIOD.
WE KNOW CHINA IS ASSOCIATED WITH SWEAT SHOP FACTORIES, BUT NOT WHAT WE DO. OUR CHINESE CREW ALL HAVE UNIVERSITY DEGREES, VPNs, PASSPORTS, AND CITY LIFESTYLES, AND GET PAID EXPERT WAGES FOR DOING AN EXPERT JOB. THE GOVT SETS THE WAGES FOR ALL OTHER STAFF, AND INSURES THEM ALL, AND WE EAT AND STAY LOCALLY RATHER THAN FOREIGN OWNED CHAINS.
WE DON’T USE TOURIST RESOURCES, AND THEY MOSTLY DON’T EXIST WHERE WE GO ANYWAY, AND DO THINGS AT LOCAL LEVELS NOT FROM A GOLDFISH BOWL OF CULTURAL BUFFER, BECAUSE OUR AIM IS TO AVOID THEM LOOKING AT US AS SOME ECONOMIC MIRACLE. WE HAVE SEEN HOW TOURISM TENDS TO BRING OUT THE WORST IN A SOCIETY, AND WE DON’T PLAY INTO HERE.
REMEMBER THOSE STOVES WE USE TO OFFSET CARBON EMISSIONS? WELL THEY ALSO FREE UP THE TIME, MONEY, AND HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSES THAT USE THEM, ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN WHO RUN THE FINANCES AND SPEND MUCH OF THEIR DAY BREATHING THE SMOKE.
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POLITICAL INTERACTION
25 YEARS IN THE INTERESTING PARTS OF CHINA AND THE REGION HAS GIVEN US CERTAIN INSIGHTS, ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT ANYONE WITHOUT IT THINKS IS PROBABLY BULLSHIT. WE HAVE NO AGENDA OTHER THAN FOR PEOPLE ON ALL SIDES TO FREELY TRADE IDEAS, AND TO LEAVE THE CONTROLS OF FREEDOM IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO WANT IT.
ENGAGE US, WE WELCOME IT AND KNOW YOU WILL BE SURPRISED BY WHAT YOU FIND.
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ALL THESE THINGS ARE IN MOTION, RIGHT NOW, AND WE MAKE A BIG EFFORT TO DO THEM ALL BETTER. WE DON’T SUBSCRIBE TO ANY IDEOLOGY OTHER THAN PROPER EXPEDITION CLIMBING, AND OUR ONLY ACCOUNTABILITY IS TO THE PLACES AND PEOPLE WE CLIMBING AMONGST. RIGHT NOW THE NORTHERN KARAKORAM IS PRISTINE, SO ANYTHING LESS THAN THAT WE CAN OBSERVE. RIGHT NOW WE CAN DRINK THE GROUND WATER AND SEE ENDANGERED ANIMALS, AND MORE THAN BEING WILLING TO PRESERVE IT WE ARE WILLING TO DEFEND IT.
