Category: PSYCHE

JAPAN'S BEST ALPINE TRIPS BEGIN HERE

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WINTER BIVY NIGHTS

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…
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FRONTIER ICE CLIMBING; INNER MONGOLIAN ICE

EVER WANTED TO SEE THE GOBI DESERT IN WINTER? TRUE TO FORM, ICECLIMBINGJAPAN AND FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS BRINGS YOU THE LEADING EDGE OF ASIAN CLIMBING TRIPS. NOT ONLY DO WE COVER A LOT OF GROUND IN ASIA, BUT WE WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ALSO COVER A LOT OF THEIR OWN GROUND AND EXPOSE US…
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Mt FUJI WINTER CLIMBING 2020 / 21

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…
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TIBET: CLIMBING IN THE MUCH BIGGER PICTURE

WARNING! SCI-SPEAK ALERT. DO NOT PROCEED IF INTOLERANT OF ACADEMIC RIGOR OUR RECENT ARTICLE ON EXPEDITIONS TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL CENTRE OF TIBET HAS GENERATED SOME VERY COOL DISCUSSIONS. INTEREST HAS BEEN COMING FROM DIVERSE DIRECTIONS, THE PLANNING & LOGISTICS HAS PROVEN BOTH FASCINATING AND SURPRISING, AND MORE THAN ANYTHING THE INPUT RE GEOGRAPHY HAS PUT…
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SCHEDULING NOW: WINTER 2020 / 21

SURPRISINGLY AMIDST ALL THE CHAOS, PLANS FOR WINTER 20/21 ARE COMING IN THICK AND FAST AS TRAVEL AND ACCESS AROUND THE WORLD EVOLVES. HAVING AN EARLY HANDLE ON THE COVID SCENARIO PUT JAPAN WELL AHEAD ON THE RECOVERY CURVE, AND IMMIGRATION HERE IS SORTING ITSELF TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF REOPENING OF GLOBAL TRAVEL.…
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WINTER 19/20 REVIEW AND LOOKING FORWARD

DESPITE THE BIZARRE WEATHER AND COVID19 VIRUS WINTER 2019/20 WORKED OUT AS ONE OF THE BEST SEASONS WEVE HAD OVER 12 YEARS. ONCE WE RETOOLED FOR THE CHANGED CONDITIONS WE FOUND +60 DAYS OF ICE AND MIXED ALPINE, DOING ROUTES WEVE WAITIED YEARS FOR, AND STANDARD ROUTES IN INTERESTING CONDITIONS. LIKE MOST PEOPLE WE’D LIKE…
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2020 JAPAN’S SPRING ALPINE CLIMBING

AMAZINGLY AFTER THE BIZARRE WINTER SEASON THAT UNEXPECTEDLY GENERATED SOME OF THE BEST CLIMBING WE’VE EVER DONE, THEN THE CURRENT PANDEMIC THAT SHUT DOWN ONLY A SINGLE TRIP, SPRING HAS TURNED OUT EXCEPTIONAL CLIMBING. ONE OF THE UPPER BUTTRESSES ON HINODAKE’S CHUOYAMA O-NE ROUTE RAPPING OFF YOKODAKE’S SAN SHO HOU RUNZE AS EVENING ARRIVES USUALLY…
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NEW: SHORT TRIPS TO UNTOUCHED ICE IN SICHUAN / TIBET

WANT TO FEEL WHAT SHUANGQIAO WAS LIKE 20 YEARS AGO WHEN THE ONLY OUTSIDERS WHO KNEW ABOUT IT WERE ‘INNER CIRCLE’ CLIMBERS LIKE GUY LACELLE? THESE DAYS MANY PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF THE ICE IN THE SHUANGQIAO GOU VALLEY. WORLD CLASS, QUIET TIBETAN VALLEY HOMESTAYS, ENOUGH ALTITUDE & FRONTIER STUFF TO FEEL LIKE AN EXPEDITION. BUT…
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FOR ANYONE WORRIED THERE’S NO ICE YET

LEAN & STRIPPED. IT’S A GOOD YEAR FOR ‘GROWN UP’ ICE

LIQUID LOGIC: LEAN, BARE & HIGH 2019 / 20 ICE

DESPITE THE USUAL WORRY ABOUT ICE NOT FORMING IT’S A BETTER-THAN-NORMAL EARLY SEASON. LATE SNOW HAS RETARDED SOME OF THE REGULAR FEEDS FOR SOME AREAS BUT IT ALSO MEANS ACCESS IS FASTER AND SAFER, AND HAS BEEN MORE THAN MADE UP FOR WITH THE LIQUID ALREADY IN THE SYSTEM. 2 WEEKS OF CLIMBING ACROSS YAMANASHI…
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