The Finer Points
By Howard Tombs
A good expedition team is like a powerful, well-oiled, finely-tuned marriage. Members cook meals together, face challenges together, and finally go to bed together. A bad expedition, on the other hand, is an awkward ugly, embarrassing thing characterized by bickering, filth, frustration, and crispy macaroni.
Nearly all bad expeditions have one thing in common: poor expedition behavior (EB). This is true even if team members follow the stated rules, such as Don't Step on the Rope, Separate Kerosene and Food, No Soap in the River, No Raccoons in the Tent, Keep your Ice Axe Out of My Eye, etc.
Unfortunately, too many rules of expedition behavior remain unspoken. Some leaders seem to assume that their team members already have strong and generous characters like their own. But judging from a few of the campers we've encountered, more rules ought to be spelled out. Here are ten of them.
