The Watchfires of Alpinist is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, notable for its keen interest in outer space, ubiquitous missile silos, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, devout population of 22.275 billion Alpinistians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The large government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Industry. The average income tax rate is 64.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Alpinistian economy, worth a remarkable 2,076 trillion $$s a year, is dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Uranium Mining, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Black market activity is frequent. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 93,234 $$s, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.2 times as much as the poorest.

It turns out you can teach cats new tricks, job security isn't great for professional roulette players, politicians have been known to swim in pools filled with $$s, and Leader's new android secretary is the latest media darling. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a very well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Alpinist's national animal is the Death's-head Hawkmoth, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Alpinist is ranked 131,356^th in the world and 2^nd in Himalayas for Safest, scoring 67.82 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.