FINDING THE RAT
THE STUFF OTHER COMPANIES AREN’T TELLING YOU ABOUT
INNER ASIA; XINJIANG, THE GOBI & SILK ROAD
KARAKORAM NORTH SIDES; K2, G1, BROAD PEAK & 6000-7000ms
TIBET; 5000-7000m, WINTER, FIRST & ESTABLISHED ASCENTS
FEEDING THE RANT
“THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, AND READ BEFORE YOU THINK”
– FRAN LEBOWITZ
MAMMUT TAISS LIGHT GTX REVIEW
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.
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FIXING: SHORT vs ROUTE
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.
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CHENGDU FOR CLIMBERS
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.
Read moreNEEDING THE RAT
STUFF THAT WORKS FOR OUR UNIQUE EXPEDITIONS
ELITECLIMB MORPHO TOOLS REVIEW. AS GOOD AS TOOLS GET
MALACHOWSKI SUPER ULTRALIGHT SLEEPING BAGS REVIEW. THE FINEST SLEEPING BAGS POSSIBLE
ACTUALLY GAME-CHANGING
TESTED OVER DOZENS OF OUR TRIPS, OUR 2024/25 EXPEDITIONS USE & ADVOCATE
That’s why I like feeding the rat. It’s a sort of annual check-up on myself. The rat is you, really. It’s the other you, and it’s being fed by the you that you think you are. And they are often very different people. But when they come close to each other, that’s smashing, that is. Then the rat’s had a good meal and you come away feeling terrific. It’s a fairly rare thing, but you have to keep feeding the brute, just for your own peace of mind. And even if you did blow it, at least there wouldn’t be that great unknown.
