JAPAN'S BEST ALPINE TRIPS BEGIN HERE
WE’VE SOLD IMAGES OF JAPANESE ICEFALLS AND WINTER CLIMBING FOR YEARS NOW, BUT RECENTLY IT’S BEEN INTEREST IN BIVY SITES THAT HAS DRAWN ATTENTION. ALMOST INVARIABLY THOSE WHO POINT THIS OUT HAVE THE SAME REASON – THEY WANT TO START DOING MORE INVOLVED ASCENTS. SOMETIMES IT’S JUST ABOUT LEARNING A SURVIVAL SKILL, BUT MORE AND…
Read more
FOR YEARS WE’VE DESTROYED PACKS IN THE PROCESS OF USING THEM. USUALLY THE SEAMS BLOW OUT FROM THE LOADS, OR THE SHOULDER FOAM GOES, OR THEY STOP BEING MADE, OR IN THIS CASE SOMETHING NEW AND BETTER ENTERS THE MARKET. THE 3rd CHAKRA PACKS COMBINE HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS WITH JAPANESE DESIGN AND NEPALESE INDUSTRY TO…
Read more
ICECLIMBINGJAPAN TEAMED WITH ELITE CLIMB A YEAR AGO TO BRING CUTTING EDGE TOOLS TO JAPAN AND OUR CLIMBERS. DESPITE WEIRD SEASONS, THE VIRUS AND SHIPPING HURDLES WE HAVE KICKED IN THE 2020 / 21 WINTER WITH THIS SET OF RAPTORS CUSTOM COLOURED IN LUMINOUS GREEN. WHY GREEN? TRUE STORY; THESE TOOLS ARE SO LIGHT…
Read more
RIGHT NOW Mt FUJI LOOKS LIKE THIS. THE TRAILS ARE OPEN AND THE EARLY SNOW IS PROBABLY HERE TO STAY ABOVE ABOUT 2700m. AS PER A NORMAL YEAR, FACILITIES ON THE MOUNTAIN ABOVE THE 5th STATION WILL BE CLOSED, AND IDEALLY UNLIKE LAST WINTER THERE WILL BE NO ACCIDENTS THAT ENTAIL POLICE ASKING CLIMBERS TO…
Read more
WE HAVEN’T POSTED ABOUT GEAR FOR A LONG TIME. IN PART BECAUSE MOST ALPINE GEAR HAS PLATEAUED AT A GOOD STATE OF DEVELOPMENT, AND IN PART BECAUSE, WELL, WE NEED TO CARE ABOUT IT LESS. OVER HUNDREDS OF TRIPS WE’VE SEEN THAT AS LONG AS YOU GET A FEW THINGS DIALED THE REST IS ACADEMIC,…
Read more
GROWING UP IN THE 80s WE ALL HEARD THE STORIES OF THE AMAZING GEAR BEING HAND MADE IN EASTERN EUROPE; TITANIUM, KEVLAR & COMPOSITES BEING APPROPRIATED AND MADE INTO LIGHTER AND MORE RADICAL STUFF THAN WE WERE GETTING FROM THE CORPORATE MAKERS IN THE WEST. ACCOUNTS OF ASCENTS ONLY ADDED TO THE MYTH, OF SLAVIC…
Read more
ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE’VE LEARNED FROM JAPANESE ALPINISM IS BEING TRULY FASTER AND LIGHTER. MOST PEOPLE NOTICE ON THE APPROACH TRAILS THAT JAPANESE CLIMBERS CARRY NO SHORTAGE OF STUFF – ESPECIALLY FOOD – AND MAKE THE HALF-BAKED CONCLUSION THE ‘FAST & LIGHT’ ETHOS NEVER TOOK HOLD HERE. BUT THEY’D BE WRONG. ITS VERY…
Read more
ICECLIMBINGJAPAN’S SECRET ON THINGS LIKE ONE DAY PUSH TRIPS, CALORIE MATE CAN – THE DRINK VERSION OF THE WELL KNOWN BARS – WE’VE FOUND TO BE EASILY THE BEST ENERGY SUPPLEMENT AROUND. TASTE WISE, UNLIKE THE BARS, IT’S EASY TO CONSUME; A BIT SWEET, A BIT FATTY, A BIT SALTY, IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE PROTEIN…
Read more
every year we have multiple to-and-fro conversations as people work out their clothing. half is about what they need, and half is about how much it all costs. companies like Patagonia and Mammut will certainly cater to anyone not knowing what really matters and might be mistaking a brand logo for being specialist, but it’s…
Read more
2018 sees a series of climbing expeditions to the wildest objectives we can conjure, including a return to the North Eastern Tibetan plateau. after several visits and always stopping to stare, this year we have all the pieces aligned for attempts on several unnamed 5500m – 6000m peak and walls across eastern Tibet. evolution in access,…
Read more