Summits.com @ TechSauce New Tech Startup Claims Best Mountains for Climbing Are In Southeast Asia

Bangkok, Thailand: A new Southeast Asian startup was at TechSauce claiming that Southeast Asia’s mountains offer the best amateur climbing in the world, that the region deserves its own mountaineering subculture, and that Summits.com is the place it should start.

What mountaineering subculture?

A strong climbing subculture grew amidst the outdoorsy folk of the US Pacific Northwest in the latter part of the 20th century. Down or fleece jackets and vests by Patagonia or North Face became the membership cards, and the outdoor pursuits of trekking and hiking were the entry-points to a wholesome and responsible, yet social and adventurous lifestyle.

The sub-culture was seized upon by Japan’s urbanites in need of retreat to the mountains. Outdoor Magazine was matched by GO OUT. Patagonia and North Face items were snapped up, but the Nanamica, White Mountaineering, and Visvim also became local taste-makers for stylish urban Jampackers.

Yet, images of alpine climbers picking their way up an iceflow has little resonance to life in Southeast Asia. There’s few places to wear GORE-TEX in the tropics. There’s almost no natural snow or ice. It’s more about battling the elements at the opposite end of the spectrum - heat and humidity, tropical downpours and mosquitos.

So why should mountaineering take off in Southeast Asia?

“There are incredible mountains all over the region that are well worth climbing,” says Pete Silvester, Interim CEO of Summits.com. “Although Mount Kinabalu is the most well-known, the elements that make that summit such a memorable ascent - traversing from tropical jungle through alpine forests and up onto its surreal moonscape above the treeline - are present in countless mountains across the region. We can see them from Fansipan in Vietnam’s Sapa region, to Carstensz Pyramid and Mount Kerinci in Indonesia’s Far East and West (respectively).

But Summits.com also thinks that mountaineering can be better in Southeast Asia than elsewhere. “Firstly, the region has a full gamut of volcanology,” says Silvester. “For example, Mount Popa is a sacred extinct stratovolcano in Myanmar, whilst Mount Apo or Mayon are highly active ones in the Philippines. Some are topped with immense craters such as on Mount Rinjani in Lombok, the Ijen Crater in Java, or the relatively fresh Mount Pinatubo crater near Manila.”

“Furthermore,” Silvester continued, “many of them pop straight out of the sea, and can be reached for sunset after a day on the beach, and others are within a couple of hours from major international airports. Whilst some of them are really challenging climbs, with a higher vertical ascent than many of the famed mountains in colder climates, they’re all places that agriculture so far hasn’t gotten to, and therefore offer some of the most ancient, pristine, and diverse ecosystems in the world.”

What Summits.com is doing

Summits.com wants to become the place where Southeast Asia’s own, unique mountain subculture grows from. Where do they start? “We just want to get everyone out climbing the nearest mountains. So we’ve started with a website that tells people where they are, why they’re awesome, and how to do it,” says Silvester.

But their vision is much more than a community of climbers, and aims to use data to help amateur hikers on their climbs. The way Pete Silvester puts it, “Southeast Asians are the most web-connected people in the world, and bring their mobile phones everywhere. We're looking at ways to use advanced analytics to deliver insights to enhance the mountaineering experience.” When pressed for details about how data can enhance mountaineering, he added, “If you look at the dramas on Everest this season, for example: overcrowding, litter, poor decision making with regard to weather… these are problems any data scientist would love to tackle. We see many similar directions to take in Southeast Asia.”

For example, “we particularly want to get women climbing mountains. Our research shows women are half as likely to climb mountains in the region as men. The US mountain subculture is becoming more gender-neutral, and it is teaching us that we have to put images and stories of women mountaineers front and centre, and use technology to help women overcome other obstacles they face. If we can get women, and then young people, climbing mountains in the region, we think these incredible ecosystems may yet have a chance of survival.”

To begin with, Summits.com is also on a mission to get everyone excited about hiking. “We have started with a great website, with quality curated content. But we will be launching some real cool stuff soon! Watch this space.”

Summits.com
29 Media Circle, #03-14, Alice@Mediapolis,
Singapore 138565
(Press)Contact: Pete@Summits.com

About Summits.com
Summits.com is a website that tells you where, why, and how to climb the region’s mountains. It was started when two friends from Singapore were hiking up a mountain and reflecting on how hard it was to get there. It is being built by The Software Practice - an established Singaporean software development firm - and being led by Pete Silvester, who we found at TechSauce.

Links:
https://summits.com
https://facebook.com/worldofsummits
https://twitter.com/worldofsummits
https://instagram.com/worldofsummits
https://pinterest.com/worldofsummits

This release was published on openPR.