LINES
EXPEDITIONS
Exploratory ski touring in search of new lines
Two to three weeks in ranges where the map still has blank spots. A small team, a flexible plan, and costs shared the way friends share them.
WHAT AN EXPEDITION IS
Journeys and camps follow routes I already know. Expeditions are different: we go to look. The ranges are chosen for north-facing terrain, access that works in the season, and the absence of other people’s tracks. The plan for each day is set by snow, weather and avalanche conditions, not by a schedule, and part of the plan always changes on the ground.
The format is closer to a trip among friends than to a commercial tour. You pay for guiding and the preparation behind the route; everything else, from transport to lodging and food, is paid as we go and shared equally by the team. Teams are small, usually three to five people, and compatibility matters as much as experience, so every application starts with a few words about yourself.
The requirements are higher than on my other trips: several seasons of backcountry ski touring or splitboarding, comfort with 1,000–1,500 m of ascent and six to eight hours on the move, your own avalanche kit and the skills to use it, and an easy relationship with simple lodging, no signal and days of waiting.
UPCOMING EXPEDITIONS
Spring 2027 · Open
Kyrgyzstan · Kyrgyz Ala-Too, Tian Shan
HIDDEN LINES
10–23 April 2027 · 14 days · Team of 3–5
Two weeks of reconnaissance across four north-facing areas south of Bishkek: Chunkurchak and Alamedin close to the city, the Too-Ashuu pass, the high Suusamyr valley beyond it, and the huts and glaciers of upper Ala-Archa. From low gorges to 4,500 m, following the snow.
Guiding €4,200 per team · from €840 per person
Spring 2028 · Early registration
India · Ladakh & Zanskar, Himalaya
HIDDEN LINES ZANSKAR
Late April – mid-May 2028 · 3 weeks · Team of 3–5
Three weeks in one big loop out of Leh: the Stod valley and Padum, the Pensi La with the Drang-Drung glacier, Suru beneath Nun and Kun, and Dras. North slopes at 4,000–5,500 m, nights in the villages and monasteries along the way. The highest and the quietest of the expeditions.
Guiding €6,300 per team · from €1,260 per person
Autumn 2028 · In preparation
Tibet · Amdo, eastern Kunlun
AMNYE MACHEN
Autumn 2028 · Bicycle expedition · Up to 3 companions
A bicycle expedition around the sacred massif of Amnye Machen, 6,282 m, on the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The journey behind the AMNIMAKEN name, years in preparation. For experienced bike travellers with a general understanding of Buddhism.
Dates and cost to be confirmed · the conversation is open
FROM PAST EXPEDITIONS
Three films from three of our past expeditions — what it actually looks like: the road, the snow, the people, and the lines we found.
GET IN TOUCH
If one of these expeditions speaks to you, or you have a range in mind that should be looked at, write a few words about yourself and your experience in the mountains.
MORE AT AMNIMAKEN