iceclimbingjapan

Independant, off-the-grid & unique. Iceclimbingjapans expeditions differ from regular climbing trips in that it is YOU making the calls.

Whereas our ice trips take us to well known ice destinations with established routes, expeditions are to your objective on your schedule.

crossing the northern Tibet plateau into Xinjiang in 2001: witnessing the changes in the region gives us a good perspective

We regularly travel into greater asia for expeditions to serious places, clocking up dozens of trips within the last 13 years, and the majority of these trips have been to lesser known areas in China and Central Asia, building us a portfolio of experience unequalled by logistics providers. Lots of companies can get you to the Khumbu and the Baltoro, some even to the Tien Shan, but few have what we do to get you to the lesser known ranges.

Daruut Khorgan, deep in the western Pamir’s Alay Chu: parts of Central Asia are still very wild & off the grid 

Across the region are dozens of +/- 6000m peaks that are accessible to those that know how. With Iceclimbingjapans network of local guides and logistics people we make them very doable.

For the new generation of alpine climbers graduating from 3-4000m routes the only options are not just the old favorites where much of the ‘expeditionary element’ was whittled down decades ago, with the formation of safari-like industries to dumb down the process. In places like Tibet and Central Asia, expeditions are still the real thing, with vast areas waiting to be explored.

driving in to NW sichuan-tibet border: peaks in the Xue shan range. photo: Schewchuk

We don’t run guided trips. We don’t set fixed ropes, import oxygen, carry your stuff or tell you how to do things. What we do do is streamline a process where 13 years of experience turns the difficult into the doable.

Iceclimbingjapan is an independent logistics provider that puts you I charge – we don’t do the climbing for you. Its your idea, to your timeline, with your team – we just pull it together. This is a new way of organizing trips, to new areas, for climbers thinking in a new way that breaks the ‘Scotland-Alps-Khumbu’ mold.

Give us your ideas on objectives and we do all the tedious, difficult and confusing stuff that includes

• Permits & redtape

• On-the-ground transport

• On-the-ground coordination

• Stocking & sourcing

• Local liaising

• Scheduling

• Trouble-shooting & negotiation

‘I wanna get on a 5500m route no one else has tried in a place that doesn’t need 10 days of approach time’ is a great place to start. As are ideas that last several months, cross deserts, descend rivers and go into places without names.

crossing the lake in the karakorum highway: enroute between K2 south-side and Xinjiang/Tibet

EXPED 2014: HKAKABO RIZI, MYANMAR, 5881m

this is a big deal.

a network of contacts has opened up the chance to get into Kachin State, Myanmar to climb Hkakabo Rizi, southeast asias highest peak.  sitting in the SE reaches of the Himalaya, Hkakabo Rizi is remote and rarely visited, attempted only twice officially by a Japanese/French/Burmese group in the 90′s.

Hkakabo Rizi: image from the Myanmar Hiking & Mountaineering Federation

the core of the expedition will be a collective of internationall climbers, but several places will be available to commercial members wanting to seriously go where few others have before. this trip will be the genuine expedition experience, undertaken with full self-sufficiency into an area well off the radar. whilst all access will be legitimate, the logistics in comparison to Nepal, Pakistan, Sth America etc will be very scaled back.

expressions of interest are now being considered, please contact iceclimbingjapan with any enquiries. note that places on this trip will need to be secured well in advance

EXPED 2013: WESTERN SICHUAN

This trip sees us heading out to the eastern Tibetan escarpment to the plethora of +/- 6000m peaks in the area. Some peaks are only a day or two from civilization, whilst others require more obscure approaches – all perfect for small groups looking to go beyond the usual destinations.

Long the obscure playground of elite western and Japanese climbers, we now make access possible.

With our local network we avoid much of the redtape that scares foreign climbers about China, making the region more doable than it has ever been. We go in light but well stocked (no dhal bhat or dietry restrictions in China!) and base ourselves at the feet of dozens of peaks that have seen few or no ascents. Expeditions to this area can be much cheaper than ‘safari mountain’ areas, and infrastructure is much, much better – reducing access times stress. This style of climbing needs little more than the same equipment as used in Scotland or the Alps, with Iceclimbingjapan capable of filling the gaps for things like BC tents and in-country resources like fuel and food.

For expressions of interest contact us using the BOOKINGS & CONTACT page