OUR MISSION
At Great Goat Expeditions we seek the space where wilderness and culture converge. We aim to spirit clients away into regions so incredibly remote and scarcely visited by outsiders that our presence alone is likely to astonish the local populations. It is in places such as this where the most unconditional hospitality can be found.
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This is our mission,
and this is how we go about realizing it:
FINDING UNIQUE ROUTES
For many years, our team has tasked ourselves with the joy of scouring maps and local reservoirs of landscape knowledge in pursuit of novel backcountry routes. We then walk these routes, revise as needed, and finally optimize each of these itineraries for group-oriented travel. This process entails finding the best camp sites for each region, identifying the most rewarding sights, and above all, ensuring that our routes remain ecologically undisturbed.
Our routes tend to be more challenging than many found in an international arena: difficult terrain punctuated with sharp climbs and descents, river crossings, and temperamental weather. In return, we are rewarded with fantastically untarnished nature. (Please note that all of our itineraries have been designed with a trekker of moderate fitness in mind. You don't need to be an athlete to participate!)
CONNECTING WITH LOCALS
We create opportunities that allow our guests to interact and connect with local populations, whether that be with the nomadic families of Kyrgyzstan or the sedentary people of the high Pamir Plateau.
It would be easy to take advantage of the kindness on offer in Central Asia, but this is not our goal. We provide all of our partners with fair wages and a consistent income, which is often hard to come by amongst sustenance-based populations.
We truly believe to better understand a culture, we must fully immerse ourselves in that culture and the landscape that it occupies, away from the lens of mainstream tourism.
KEEPING IT AUTHENTIC
We've seen how quickly mass-tourism can erode both culture and ecosystem alike, so it is our goal that the quiet regions covered on our expeditions remain that way. By running small, intimate expeditions and safeguarding our precise location details, we believe that we can maintain this balance.
In our experience, many people outside the western cultural sphere tend to idealize it, and are quick to forsake tradition in favor of it. By communicating our appreciation and respect for the natural beauty, history, and traditions of a region, we believe that we can in turn help facilitate the preservation of these things by encouraging a sense of stewardship and self-admiration amongst local populations.
COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
Mountain ecosystems can be very fragile, so we ensure that all of our staff and clients are educated in and adhere to the 'Leave No Trace' Principles.
For every kilogram of waste removed, we pay an extra $10 to our local staff. We believe this incentive will go a long way in keeping Central Asia clean.
In the future, we are keen to further offset our carbon footprint by partnering with local and international conservation groups to further our dream of preserving this beautiful part of the world.
To reduce carbon emissions, we adjust transportation based on expedition size. Smaller groups use smaller vehicles, while larger groups have private minibuses, recognizing that some guests may prefer to avoid public transportation.