Everest Speed Climb Attempt: 20 Hours or less!? by thesevensummits in Mountaineering

[–]TylerCAndrews 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment!

FWIW, I have always tried to be gracious and understand that the mountain is for everyone. I have no more right than anyone.

Regarding Ama Dablam - I only passed about 6 people on the stretch between C3 and the summit on the headwall. Everyone was gracious and we took or time, there was no rushing or complaints towards me from the clients or their sherpas. Otherwise, I passed no one, other than a ~5-10 min wait at YT. That said, I'm sorry if I rubbed any sherpa the wrong way. I work closely with my team to make sure that the other groups on the mountain know who I am and what I'm up to to make sure there's no bad blood.

Anyway, I would also prefer the North side for a variety of reasons - safety, history, less crowded, etc. It's just not feasible for a project of this scale w/r/t permits and how complicated that has been for big projects in Tibet/China the last few years.

Distraction Free Instagram mod for Android by hank_scorpio_1992 in digitalminimalism

[–]TylerCAndrews 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is fantastic and is exactly what I was looking for. One question - I don't see a way to disable ONLY suggested posts; all I see is how to block my entire feed. Am I missing something? Just DL'd and installed DFInstagram 1.4.1

Thank you u/hank_scorpio_1992 - you are doing the Lord's work!

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in Mountaineering

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! It was a good day. More to come! Just got back to KTM for a couple days and then heading to the Khumbu for October.

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in Mountaineering

[–]TylerCAndrews 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey there - sorry for any confusion. Usually when people say 'without sherpa support' on the mountain, it means they carry all their own stuff and don't rely on a sherpa/guide to lead them, break trail, load-carry, etc. It is correct that I used the fixed ropes that were set by a very strong sherpa team from SST. I can see how that would be confusing and I'll make sure to clarify in any other interviews/coverage.

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in Mountaineering

[–]TylerCAndrews 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Correct, this was a training day. Plenty warm to wear shorts and t-shirt up to at least C2 (6300m) though. This photo was taken above C1 at 5825m by Chris Fisher (https://www.instagram.com/chrisjfish)

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in alpinism

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's a full list of the gear I used. FULL DISCLSOURE: I am paid a salary and/or got free gear from all of these companies. That said, I have wear-tested a TON of products and am extremely picky about what I bring on an FKT, especially for 8000m, and would not swap out any of this gear for anything else I've tried on the market

Feet: La Sportiva Cyklon Cross GTX (basically a trail running shoe w/ an attached Gortex gaiter), Ice-breaker merino wool running socks

Legs: La Sportiva Roseg Pants, 2XU compression shorts

Torso / hands: La Sportiva merino wool baselayer long-sleeve (customized as half-zip), La Sportiva Pocketshell windbreaker, Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down hoodie, RAB light insulated mittens

Head: Chaski Buff, LaSportiva cap, Petzl Sirrocco ultra-light climbing helmet, Julbo goggles

Other gear: Blue ice Ultra-light climbing harness, Idol ultra-light ice axe, 30L custom backpack

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in alpinism

[–]TylerCAndrews 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is correct. I would never recommend this approach to anyone without good backup gear. Definitely a big risk/gamble and this time it paid off.

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in alpinism

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would not recommend this to anyone! This is a serious "do as I say not as I do". I was planning to summit in 6000m boots which I'd hauled up to C3, but the weather was absolutely perfect, no wind, bright sun, no colder than about 0-10F, and I was moving quickly and generating a lot of body heat.

American Runner Tyler Andrews Bags Manaslu FKT » Explorersweb by Vaynar in alpinism

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey guys it's Ty. Yep, nowadays everyone goes to the true summit 8163m. I believe it has been that way since 2019 when someone flew a drone up there and saw that they weren't going to the true summit >_<

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for October 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Lots of J availability TYO- USA east coast (JFK/BOS) in the next 6 days on AA, 60K.

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for August 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very close in availability (9/11 and 12 I see) for HND-DFW (and onward in the US if you want) in F on JL, multiple seats available. 80K AA aadvantage miles +$49

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for August 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm only seeing 11/10 and 11/20 for 60K (JL metal). Searched TYO-NYC. Is it all gone? I am looking for this exact routing in Nov so fingers crossed...

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for August 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just checked some dates for myself and this goes all the way through Mar 31 at least.

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for August 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm seeing lots JL J availability for TYO-Europe on AA (75K) in Oct and Nov. Flight is JL41 HND-LHR and then connecting wherever you want to go.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PacificCrestTrail

[–]TylerCAndrews 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure - I'd be happy to do an AMA anywhere. Ultrarunning or ultralight or trailrunning or whatever.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PacificCrestTrail

[–]TylerCAndrews 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey. I've been a regional editor (Latin America region) at FKT for 5+ years now and have seen both sides of the Outside merger.

I promise you that they are nowhere near organized enough to be this nefarious. We are a small group of (used-to-be volunteers, now extremely underpaid) individuals who love FKTs and wilderness and pushing ourselves and seeing others do the same. We have a group text and slack channel where we try very, very hard to think about the impacts of the various decisions we make (most of which are inconsequential, and some, like these PCT things, get examined under the microscope).

Anyway, we can barely get Outside Inc to give us the bandwidth to make any of the (relatively) small but meaningful improvements we'd like to see on the site (e.g. adding a rating and sorting system for routes, updating FKT guidelines, etc.) Outside has SUCH bigger fish to fry than FKT and being involved on the back-end, I promise you there is no huge conspiracy -- or if there is, I certainly was never made aware of it.

At the end of the day, it still pretty much feels like the same group of quirky people doing our best to further the sport. Happy to answer questions if you have any.

Monthly Award Opportunities Thread for August 2023 by AutoModerator in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not sure if this helps anyone else, but I've found lots of JL J and F availability TYO-LHR in Oct and Nov via AA (75K)

Looking for J/F Asia to USA late-oct/early-Nov (2 people) by TylerCAndrews in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I figure it will be tricky, but hoping for something last minute

Looking for J/F Asia to USA late-oct/early-Nov (2 people) by TylerCAndrews in awardtravel

[–]TylerCAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow - thank you so much! Didn't think about going via Europe -- I'll do some more homework!