THE THIRD POLE OF TIBET ISN’T LIKE THE ‘POLAR POLES’ BUT IT ATTRACTS SOME OF THE SAME CHARACTERS
POLAR ADVENTURERS
OF COURSE. IT’S A GIVEN THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TO THE NORTH & SOUTH POLES ARE INTERESTED IN THEN GOING TO THE THIRD ONE. THESE TYPES KNOW FULL WELL THAT EVEREST BASECAMP ISN’T THE THIRD POLE, AND THAT GETTING TO ANY POLE MEANS AN EXTENDED TRIP WELL BEYOND THE EDGES OF COMFORTABLE CIVILIZATION. POLAR ADVENTURERS BRING TO THIS AN IMPORTANT DEGREE OF PERSPECTIVE THAT OFTEN FINDS THE NEW ADDITION OF ALTITUDE EXCITING. FOR THE OLD FACE-OFF OF ALTITUDE VS LATITUDE, THIS IS THE PERFECT COMBINATION.
HIGH ALTITUDE ADVENTURERS
THIS IS THE GREATEST EXTENT TO WHICH YOU CAN STAY ABOUT 4500m ANYWHERE. FROM THE CENER OF THE POLE (HOWEVER YOU DEFINE IT) IT’S ALMOST 1000km IN ANY DIRECTION (AND MUCH MORE IN SOME) OF TERRAIN UP TO NEARLY 7000m. LONG TRIPS OUT HERE ARE MEASURED AS MUCH IN VERTICAL KILOMETERS AS THEY ARE IN HORIZONTAL, WITH ROUTES HAVING AS MUCH AS 10,000m OF ASCENT AT ALTITUDE OVER THEIR COURSE. IF THE IDEAS OF HIGH ALTITUDE LAKES & RIVERS COLLECTING OF EVEN HIGHER GLACIERS & PEAKS IS YOUR THING, TIBET’S THIRD POLE HAS A LIFETIME’S WORTH.
FRONTIER TYPES
THERE’S NOT MUCH REALLY KNOWN ABOUT THE POLE OF TIBET. AS EASY AS IT IS SCANNING GOOGLE EARTH, WHAT’S ACTUALLY OUT THERE ON THE GROUND IS BARELY DOCUMENTED, WITH ONLY A HANDFUL OF TRIPS EVER BEING DONE OUT THERE. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT SOME OF THESE PEAKS ARE LIKE TO CLIMB, WE DON’T KNOW WHERE SOME RIVERS GO WHEN THEY MELT, WE DON’T KNOW IF MANY OF THE HIGH PASSES WE THINK ARE PASSABLE ACTUALLY ARE. AND THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT IS TO GO THERE. THIS IS THE PLACE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE, AND ARE EXCITED BY WHAT THEY MIGHT FIND. EVERY TRIP WE DO TO THE TIBETAN PLATEAU WE COME ACROSS THINGS OF REAL GEOGRAPHIC VALUE – THERE’S SIMPLY SO MUCH OUT THERE. THIS IS THE PLACE FOR THOSE WHO KNOW THE POPULAR CONCEPTION THAT EVERYTHING’S BEEN DISCOVERED IS SIMPLY WRONG.
TIBET FREAKS
THE THIRD POLE PLATEAU REGION IS THE LEAST DISTURBED PART OF THE TIBETAN WORLD. FAR FROM THE PROGRESS OF THE LARGE CITIES AROUND TIBETS EDGES, THE CULTURE ACROSS THE TIBET POLE IS STILL PREDOMINANTLY NOMADIC & SEMI-NOMADIC, WITH MANY PEOPLE HAVING ALMOST NO KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE BEYOND THEIR SEASONAL CIRCUIT. IT’S NOT ALL SHANGRILA THOUGH, LIFE THROUGH THESE AREAS IS HARD, FOLLOWING THE HERDS & TRADING BETWEEN THE HIGH PASTURES AND RIVER VILLAGES. TO THE PEOPLE OUT HERE, OUTSIDE CONTACT IS A BIG DEAL THAT NEEDS TO BE APPROACHED SENSITIVELY.
ULTRA-DISTANCE UNSUPPORTED ADVENTURERS
IT’S ONE THING TO GO A LONG WAY ON FOOT, IT’S ANOTHER THING TO DO IT AT ALTITUDE & AND WITHOUT THE CHANCE OF SEEING ANOTHER HUMAN FOR WEEKS. THERE’S A BREED OF ULTRA-DISTANCE ADVENTURERS PUSHING THE EDGES OF HOW FAR THEY CAN GO UNSUPPORTED, BUT AS YET THEY ARE ONLY JUST STARTING TO TAKE ON DISTANCES AT ALTITUDE. DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ACCESS FROM, THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ULTRA-DISTANCE ‘THRU TREKKING’ ARE HUGE, CROSSING ENTIRE PARTS OF THE HIGH PLATEAU NAVIGATING ALONG VALLEYS & OVER PASSES SEEN ONLY BY SEASONAL NOMADS.
