HALF OF WILDERNESS IS THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE, AND THE FIRST THINGS MANY REALIZE ON OUR TRIPS IS HOW TEEMING WITH ANIMAL LIFE THE PLACES WE GO ARE. ANIMALS ARE A CENTRAL PART OF THE PLACES WE GO, AND NOT JUST LIKE THE UBIQUITOUS YAKS, STRAY DOGS AND OCCASIONAL THAR LIKE YOU WILL SEE IN NEPAL. ON OUR EXPEDITIONS WE REGULARLY COME ACROSS HORSES, CAMELS, YAKS, DOGS LIKE THE TIBETAN MASTIFF, WOLVES, VARIETIES OF MOUNTAIN SHEEP, ANTELOPE & GOATS, BEAR, OTTERS, MARMOTS, HARES, VULTURES, EAGLES, FOXES AND DEER. EVIDENCE THAT SNOW LEOPARDS ARE IN THE AREA HAS BEEN FOUND TOO, BUT WE ARE YET TO SEE ONE FOR CERTAIN. IT’S NO SECRET THAT SOME OF THESE ANIMALS ARE AMONG THE MOST ENDANGERED ANYWHERE.
LIKE ALL ENVIRONMENTS, THE PRESENCE OF A WIDE ARRAY OF ANIMALS INDICATES THE HEALTH OF THE PLACE, AND CONSIDERING HOW EXTREME THE HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS NORTH OF THE KARAKORAM DIVIDE IS, THE PRESENCE OF THESE ANIMALS IS A VERY GOOD SIGN. IT’S ALSO SOMETHING WE TAKE SERIOUSLY – IT’S NO ACCIDENT OUR NAME AND LOGO CENTRE ON ANIMALS. WE APPLY A LOT OF ENERGY TO MAKING SURE THE ANIMALS AROUND ARE NOT EXPLOITED OR ENDANGERED BY WHAT WE DO.
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS
IN OUR WORLD DOMESTICATED DOESN’T USUALLY MEAN FARM ANIMALS. THE CAMELS, YAKS, HORSES AND EVEN DOGS THAT ARE PART OF OUR EXPEDITIONS ARE MOSTLY THE WORKING ANIMALS OF THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, RAISED WITHIN TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL NEEDS OF LONG HISTORIES OF HUSBANDRY. THE TIBETAN, KYRGYZ, TAJIK, UIGHER AND MONGOLIAN CULTURES ALL HAVE VERY SOPHISTICATED WAYS OF INTERACTING WITH THEIR HERDS AND ANIMALS, AND WE ENGAGE WITH THEM AS CLOSE AS WE CAN CULTURALLY TO KEEP THESE TRADITIONS IN PLACE.
IT’S A SHADY BUT REAL FACT THAT IN THE PAST EXPEDITIONS, PERTICULARLY TO THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 – HAVE HAD QUESTIONABLE INCIDENTS OF DISREGARD FOR ANIMAL WELFARE. CAMELS HAVE BEEN LOADED DANGEROUSLY, HORSES HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO NEAR DEATH AND DOGS HAVE BEEN UNDERFED, MAKING THEM A DANGER TO WILDLIFE. THE FACTORS HAVE BEEN MANY AND COMPLICATED WITH NO ONE GROUP TO BLAME ALONE, AND IT’S A BLACK MARK FROM THE PAST.
THESE DAYS BIG CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE ACROSS THE PROCESS THAT PREVENT THE PROBLEMS OF THE PAST AND OUR EXPEDITIONS HAVE HAD NO INCIDENTS OF BAD TREATMENT OF ANIMALS BECAUSE WE HAVE REMOVED THE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO IT;
- ALL EQUIPMENT FOR THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORAM IS PACKED IN BLUE BARRELS, MASSIVELY REDUCING THE RISK OF DROWNING THE CAMELS IF THEY STUMBLE DURING RIVER CROSSINGS
- OUR PRE-ACCLIMATION PROGRAM ELIMINATES THE DEMAND FOR HORSES TO GO UP THE GLACIERS
- OUR BUDGETS INCLUDE THE COST FOR ANIMALS TO EAT PROPERLY
- WE ONLY EMPLOY HERDERS FROM THE AREAS CLOSEST TO THE TRAIL HEADS
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WILD ANIMALS
THE VAST HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS THAT SPANS THE BREADTH OF THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HIMALAYAN DIVIDE IS HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST REMARKABLE ANIMALS ON THE PLANET, ADAPTED TO LIVING SOMEWHERE IMPOSSIBLE FOR MOST OTHER CREATURES. TO HAVE SURVIVED HERE IS A GREAT FEAT OF THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE, AND EVEN NOW NEW ANIMALS ARE FOUND THAT HAVE ESCAPED THE OBSERVATION OF SCIENCE.
THE PRESSURE IS ON THOUGH; EXPANDING HABITATION AS PEOPLE POPULATE FURTHER OUT INTO THE WILDER AREAS, CHANGES TO WATER SOURCES AND MELT CYCLES, POACHING, TOURISM & INDUSTRY ALL COMPETE WITH ANIMAL POPULATIONS & BREEDING. THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES HAVE MADE BIG EFFORTS TO PROTECT SOME AREAS, WITH RESERVES LARGER THAN SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN SOME INSTANCES, BUT IT’S DEBATABLE IF THIS CAN BALANCE THINGS OUT.
THE HIGHEST AREAS OF ALL – THE ONES BY DEFAULT THAT WE CLIMB IN – ARE THE LEAST TOUCHED, AND AS WE ARE THE ONES THAT GO THERE WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WAY WE INTERACT WITH THE WILD INHABITANTS. THANKFULLY THE ABSENCE OF HUMAN PRESENCE OUT THERE MAKES ANY IMPACT WE HAVE INSTANTLY OBVIOUS – THERE’S NO BACKGROUND OF IMPACT TO MASK OUR IMMEDIATE ONE.
PERHAPS INCREDIBLY, OUR ENCOUNTERS WITH WILD ANIMALS ARE COMMON, HUMANS BEING SO INFREQUENT IN MANY OF THESE PLACES THERE IS NO IMPULSE TO SIMPLY FLEE. SIGHTINGS, RECENT FOOTPRINTS, SHARING TRAILS AND THE SOUNDS OF ANIMALS HAPPEN FREQUENTLY.
OUR IDEOLOGY FOR INTERACTING WITH WILDLIFE IS
- LOOK FOR IT. OBSERVING THE PRESENCE OF WILDLIFE IS THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND IT
- DON’T COMPETE ON RESOURCES INCLUDING WATER ACCESS, SLEEPING AREAS, TRAILS AND PLANTS
- NO FOOTPRINT. WE FILTER OUT AS MANY ALIEN FACTORS – INCLUDING PEOPLE – THAT GIVE US PRESENCE WHERE WE CLIMB. THIS INCLUDES NOISE, PRAYER FLAGS AND ENERGY SOURCES
- PREACCLIMATE. OUR PREACC PROGRAM MEANS WE MOVE FAST, GIVING US A VERY SMALL SIGNATURE IN THE MOUNTAINS
- CONTRIBUTE. ALL OF OUR TRIPS INCLUDE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE SNOW LEOPARD TRUST WHO FOR 40 YEARS HAVE LEAD RESEARCH FOR PROTECTING THE SNOW LEOPARD – AN APEX PREDATOR IN A VERY EXTREME ENVIRONMENT – ACROSS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES ACROSS CENTRAL ASIA DURING A PERIOD OF HUGE CHANGE.
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OVERALL
OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO RETAIN THE HIGH MOUNTAIN AREAS WE GO TO AS THE WILDERNESSES THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, BOTH IN THEIR OWN RIGHT BUT ALSO FOR HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM THESE PLACES, WHO HAVE WORKED, HUNTED AND TRAVERSED THESE PLACES AS PART OF THEIR HISTORIES AND WHO OFTEN STRONGLY IDENTIFY WITH THEM. WE SEE ‘WILDERNESS’ AS SOMETHING THAT OFTEN INCLUDES HUMANS AS WELL AS THE OTHER SPECIES AND AIM TO KEEP OUR IMPACT IN PROPORTION TO WHAT WE DO OUT THERE – WHICH ISN’T MUCH.
WE REALIZE THAT MAINTAINING A WILDERNESS MEANS MAINTAINING A WHOLE MATRIX OF FACTORS THAT INCLUDES A COMPLEX WEB OF LIFE THAT INCLUDES PEOPLE AND THEIR TRADITIONS, THAT INCLUDE HUNTING, HERDING AND WORKING, AND WE’VE EXPERIENCED THE IMPACT CLIMBING HAS HAD IN OTHER AREAS, WHERE SHORT TERM USE HAS A YEAR-ROUND IMPACT FAR OUT OF PROPORTION AND TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE WHAT WAS ONCE WILDERNESS. SOME OF THE SAME ANIMALS THAT WE REGULARLY COME ACROSS ON OUR EXPEDITIONS HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO MYTH IN OTHER PLACES.
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