8000m OVER-COMMERCIALIZATION AND WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT
K2’S SOUTH SIDE IS NO LONGER THE REMOTE & EXISTENTIAL CLIMBING EXPERIENCE IT ONCE WAS. AS THE 8000m INDUSTRY AS DEVOURED ALL OTHER OF THE WORLDS 14 HIGHEST PEAKS, SO IT’S ARRIVED AT K2. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN K2 WAS SET APART FROM OTHER 8000m PEAKS, WHEN IT WAS SEEN AS THE HIGHEST EXTENSION OF BIG MOUNTAIN ALPINISM RATHER THAN SIMPLY THE FINAL PUNCTUATION FOR MANY IN AN EXERCISE OF TICKING SUMMITS. TODAY THE SOUTH SIDE OF PAKISTAN LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE EVEREST.
K2 HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR DNA NOW FOR 10 YEARS. SINCE ATTEMPTING THE CESEN ROUTE IN 2010 AND SEEING THE WAY THE WIND WAS BLOWING ON THE PAKISTAN SIDE WE’VE STAYED ON THE LEAD CURVE SINCE. THIS INCLUDES CONSULTING WITH GERLINDE KALTENBRUNNER FOR HER SUCCESSFUL ASCENT THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SECURITY MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOLLOWING THE NANGA PARBAT KILLINGS, ACCESS PLANNING WITH THE XINJIANG MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION (XMA) AND SETTING UP THE FIRST TRIPS THAT WILL USE THE NEW ROUTE TO THE BASE.
OUR MOTIVATION FOR ALL THIS HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN THE TRULY REMOTE FACTOR THAT HAS LARGELY ERODED AWAY FROM ALL OTHER 8000m PEAKS, INCLUDING K2’S SOUTH SIDE. THIS IS A MATTER OF BOTH AVOIDING THE COMMERCIAL CIRCUS AND REDUCING THE IMPACT OF WHAT WE DO THERE. IN 2010 THERE WAS AT THE MOST 40 PEOPLE AT K2 BASECAMP, INCLUDING LOCAL CREW, TREKKERS & OTHER TEAM MEMBERS. IN 2019 THERE WAS NEARLY 100 FOREIGN CLIMBERS ALONE, WHEREAS NO ONE AS CLIMBED FROM THE NORTH SIDE IN AT LEAST 3 YEARS. WE FEEL THAT THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 (AND THE ADJOINING NORTH SIDES OF THE OTHER 8000mERS) IS THE LAST REMNANT OF WHAT 8000m CLIMBING ONCE WAS; REMOTE, COMMITTED, NOT ABOUT THE TICK LIST.
AGAINST THE RUMORS OF OPACITY AND INFLEXIBILITY, WE’VE BEEN WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE XMA AND OUR IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS TO PLAY THE LOOOOONG GAME TO DO THINGS RIGHT. ON THEIR SIDE, CHINESE AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN REORGANIZING AS BOTH REGIONAL POLITICS HAS SHIFTED AND CLIMATE CHANGE HAS ALTERED THE MELT PATTERNS THAT HAVE ALWAYS LIMITED THE K2 NORTH SIDE SEASON. NEW ACCESS ROUTES HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT ARE MORE RELIABLE, MORE SECURE & FASTER, ALL FACTORS THAT CHANGE THE WAY CLIMBING HAPPENS THERE.
FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITION’S FRAMEWORK FOR THIS IS RADICALLY DIFFERENT TO ALMOST EVERY OTHER PROVIDER OF 8000m TRIPS; ASIDE FROM THE OTHER 8000m PEAKS THAT SIT ON THE PAKISTAN-CHINA BORDER (GASHERBRUM 1 & BROAD PEAK) WE HAVE NO BUSINESS WITH OTHER 8000m TRIPS;WE DON’T RELOCATE DOZENS OF FOREIGN WORKERS – SHERPAS – AT A 2:1 RATIO TO FIX ROPES AND CARRY; WE DON’T ARRANGE BOTTLED OXYGEN, ELIMINATING ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAUSES OF BOTH TRASH AND CARBON FOOTPRINT THAT COMES WITH IT; WE RUN THE CLIMBING AS AN EXTENSION OF ALPINISM, NOT THE 8000m INDUSTRY, ie INLINE WITH A PROGRESSION OF TECHNICAL ROUTES ON 5000, 6000 AND 7000m RATHER THAN THE INDUSTRIAL CIRCUIT THAT BRINGS MOST PEOPLE THERE. OVERALL, WE KEEP K2 TO WHAT IT IS; THE REMOTEST BIG PEAK ON EARTH.
TO SHOW UP AT K2’S NORTH SIDE BASECAMP YOU NEED TO HAVE WORKED YOUR WAY THERE BY THE MOST QUALIFIED PROGRESSION, AS BEFITS THE ROUTE OPTIONS. A GUIDED JUG UP AMA DABALAM ISN’T ENOUGH AS UNLIKE THE SOUTH THAT HAS ESTABLISHED CAMPS AND DECADES OF FROZEN FIXED LINES AND FLATTENED TENTS TO FOLLOW, THE ABSENCE OF THIS ON THE NORTH MEANS THE CLIMBING CAN ONLY BE REAL ALPINE. RATHER THAN REGRESS TO THE THOUSANDS OF METERS OF LINES THAT COME WITH SIEGE ROTATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL 8000m CLIMBING, WE CHOOSE TO KEEP THINGS LEAN & CLEAN FROM THE START.
WE WANT TO KEEP K2 NORTH SIDE AS WILD AS IT CAN BE. IN COMPARISON TO THE SOUTH SIDE WHICH IS BECOMING GRIMY WITH HUMAN WASTE AND ALREADY SITS INSIDE A MILITARIZED ZONE OF FUEL DUMPS, HELI FLY OVERS AND DUMPED GEAR, THE NORTH SIDE SHOWS BARELY ANY TRACE OF HUMANS. THIS MEANS THERE’S VIRTUALLY NO CHANCE OF RESCUE ON THE CHINA SIDE AS WELL.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
THE CHINA SIDE IS A DIFFERENT PROCESS TO THE PAKISTAN VERSION; THERE’S NO INTERNATIONAL SEVEN SUMMIT-TYPE COMPANIES THAT STICK NAMES ON PERMITS, NOR ANY LONG TRADITION OF LOCALS WHO HAVE ARRANGED THINGS FOR YEARS. IN CHINA THINGS STILL FEEL VERY ‘EXPEDITION-LIKE’ AS WE ARRANGE A LOT OF THE DETAILS OURSELVES, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHINA HAVING SUPERMARKETS, GEAR SHOPS, BANKS & SUPPLY CHAINS PAKISTAN CAN ONLY DREAM OF.
WHAT TO EXPECT
THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 IS DECIDEDLY UNCOMMERCIAL FROM THE START AND USUALLY SURPRISES CLIMBERS; KASHGAR HAS NONE OF THE TOURIST TRAP STUFF FOUND IN KATHMANDU AND EVEN LESS OF AN INDUSTRY THAN PAKISTAN. ONCE LEFT TOWN, IT’S TRULY INDEPENDENT TRAVEL ACROSS DESERT AND THROUGH REMOTE TOWNS INTO THE MOUNTAINS VIA VARIOUS ETHNIC AUTONOMOUS AREAS THAT REVEAL WAYS OF LIFE UNKNOWN TO OUTSIDERS.
THE NEW ACCESS ROUTES IN RIVAL THE ROADS OUT OF SKARDU – THO ARE NEWER AND BETTER MAINTAINED – AND MILITARY PRESENCE THOUGH OBVIOUS IS MUCH LESS INVASIVE. COMPARED TO THE WELL WORN APPROACHES SOUTH OF THE RANGE, THE NORTH SIDE IS FAR CLEANER AND UNTOUCHED
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
WE MAKE A POINT OF DETAILING THIS BECAUSE A) PEOPLE ASK AND B) IT’S WHAT MAKES THE NORTH SIDE WHAT IT IS.
RELATIVE TO A NORMAL TRIP TO AN 8000m PEAK, K2 NORTH IS MUCH MORE EMISSION FRIENDLY. AS A MAJOR DESTINATION CHINA TAKES FEWER FLIGHTS TO GETS TO, GETTING TO KASHGAR REQUIRING ONLY A SINGLE TRANSIT IN CHINA (WHEREAS FLIGHTS TO ISLAMABAD USUALLY HAVE 2 LEGS THEN A THIRD FLIGHT TO SKARDU). FROM THERE BETTER ROADS MEAN WE USE LARGER AND THEREFORE FEWER VEHICLES TO THE TRAIL HEAD AND WE COVER THE DISTANCES MUCH FASTER. IT’S EVEN VERY DOABLE TO GET A TRAIN TO KASHGAR FROM URUMQI (AS ALL EXPEDITIONS DID BEFORE ABOUT 2008).
A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON THE NORTH SIDE COMES WITH THE USE OF CAMELS; INSTEAD OF THE SMALL ARMY OF PORTERS (RATIO ABOUT 4:1 CLIMBER) CAMELS EVEN THINGS TO ABOUT 1:1, REQUIRE MUCH LESS RESOURCES TO SUSTAIN AND BEING ENDEMIC TO THE AREA LEAVE VIRTUALLY NO FOREIGN WASTE. CAMELS CARRY THE EQUIVALENT TO 4 PORTERS (80KG) WHICH MAKES RESUPPLY UNNECESSARY, AND WHEN NOT WORKING ON TRIPS STAY LOCAL AND EFFECTIVELY ‘OFF THE GRID’ THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
SIMPLY THOUGH THE BIGGEST REDUCTION IN IMPACT COMES FROM FAR FEWER PEOPLE GOING THERE. INSTEAD OF A CONSTANT FLOW OF PEOPLE UP AND DOWN THE APPROACH (AND VEHICLES FERRYING THEM BACK TO TOWN), K2 NORTH SIDE ONLY SEES ONE OR TWO CARAVANS GOING IN THEN COME OUT AGAIN AT THE END.
TRIPS
TRIPS ARE ARRANGED THROUGH TO 2023, WITH CLIMBING & TREKKING OPTIONS (YES, WE’VE ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO KAYAK THE RIVERS TOO BUT GOT A SOLID ‘NO’ FOR NOW…). COSTS ARE COMPARATIVE WITH THOSE ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND VERY REPRESENTATIVE FOR WHAT THIS IS – A TRIP TO THE LAST GENUINELY REMOTE 8000m WILDERNESS.
