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THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF CHANGE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IN ALPINE CLIMBING GEAR. TENTS ARE LIGHTER AND STRONGER, HARDWARE IS LIGHTER AND STRONGER, INSULATION IS WARMER AND MORE EFFICIENT, STOVES MORE EFFICIENT, PACKS TO CARRY IT ALL ARE LIGHTER AND STRONGER – ALL THIS ON TOP OF ENTIRE NEW REGIONS TO CLIMB IN AND WAYS OF CLIMBING THAT DIDN’T EXIST A DECADE AGO CAN EVOLVE.

THE GENERAL UNIFYING THEORY IS THAT THE OLD STRATEGY OF APPROACH-BASE CAMP-APPROACH MORE-HIGH CAMP-CLIMB-BIVY IS DISSOLVING, AS LOGISTICS GET SMALLER FOOTPRINT AND AUDACITY INCREASES. NOW TINY UNSUPPORTED TEAMS CAN FLOW SMOOTH AND FAST UP EVER-LARGER OBJECTIVES, TOTALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT WHERE THEY ONCE NEEDED STAFF, ESTABLISHED SITES AND ROTATIONS, PLUS THE PORTAGE TO SUPPORT IT ALL. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING EVOLUTION SINCE THE GOLDEN AGE, EVER REFINING AND DEVELOPING WITH THE TIMES, AND NOWHERE IS THIS SEEN MORE THAN IN THE KITCHEN.

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TO CLIMB BIG, REMOTE AND NEW STUFF NEEDS TIME AND WHILST THE METRIC OF TIME IN THE CIVILIZED WORLD IS THE CLOCK, IN WILDERNESS IT IS FOOD, BECAUSE WHEN YOU CAN’T KEEP THE CALORIES COMING YOU’VE RUN OUT OF TIME TO DO ANYTHING. GELS, FREEZE DRIED AND SUPPLEMENTS HAVE ALL EXTENDED THIS TIMELINE, MOSTLY BUYING TIME AT THE HIGH AND SHARP END, KNOWING A BC WITH REAL FOOD WAS WAITING, BUT THIS STILL KEPT THE UMBILICAL TIGHT AS FEW CAN GO MORE THAN A FEW DAYS ON THE STUFF, PLUS THE FACT THAT THE COMFORTS OF BC BECAME EVER FURTHER TO RETURN TO.

FITTING THE PARADIGM OF BEING SELF-SUSTAINED ACROSS MORE OF THE MOUNTAINS PROFILE, IT BECOMES LOGICAL TO HAVE HIGH CAMPS AS LIVABLE AS POSSIBLE, THE THE EXTENT THAT THE BC IS NOW UNNECESSARY. THIS IS THE RESULT OF AN ENTIRE STRATEGIC SHIFT AS IT PUTS THE OTHER END OF THE UMBILICAL A VERY LONG WAY AWAY, BUT WHEN DONE RIGHT IT MEANS EATING AND RECOVERING IN PLACES ONCE THE PRESERVE OF BIVYS.

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THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT THE SNOWLINE OUTDOOR PRESSURE COOKER, AND THE WAY IT SHIFTS WHAT A SMALL TEAM CAN EAT AND HOW THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING. YES, IT SOUNDS MUNDANE AND NOT THE EXCITING STUFF LIKE NEW CARBON TOOLS, DYNEEMA TENTS, ALUULA PACKS OR 1100FP SUITS, BUT WE CONSIDER THIS THE BIGGEST LEAP IN ALL THE INNOVATIVE GEAR WE HAVE.

SNOWLINE IS A KOREAN BRAND WHO MAKE MOSTLY PRETTY NORMAL STUFF, BUT AMONGST THIS IS THE OUTDOOR PRESSURE COOKER WHOSE EXPECTEDLY MUNDANE NAME IS AN ANOMALY. ANYONE WHO HAS MESSED AROUND WITH PRESSURE COOKERS KNOWS THEIR SIGNATURE IS THAT THEY ARE HEAVY, SO ONE THAT WEIGHS LESS THAN HALF A NORMAL ONE SUDDENLY BRINGS SOMETHING CONFINED TO BASECAMP INTO THE WORLD OF THE ALPINIST.

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS THEY WEIGH ABOUT 800g, WHICH SOUNDS HEAVY UNTIL YOU DO THE MATH ON TEAM SIZE, GAS EFFICIENCY AND APPLICATION OF THIS THING. BLINDLY COMPARED TO POURING WATER INTO FOIL SACHET IS APPLES TO ORANGES HERE, AND THE BRILLIANCE ARISES AFTER ABOUT A WEEK OUT WITH THE METRIC BEING CLIMBING CONDITION. FOR A START, YOU NEED A POT, WHATEVER THE SYSTEM, AND A DECENT ONE FOR A TEAM OF FOUR WILL BE BETWEEN 300 AND 500g. YOU WILL ALSO NEED GAS, WHATEVER THE SYSTEM, AND ALL POTS USE ROUGHLY THE SAME UNTIL YOU GET TO THE PRESSURE COOKER.  

BASIC NUMBERS SHOW THAT THE SNOWLINE PRESSURE COOKER WEIGHS ONE MEDIUM SIZED CANISTER MORE THAN COMPARABLE POTS, OR ABOUT A DAY OF TEAM GAS UP CLIMBING OR HALF A DAY MOOCHING AROUND A CAMP DRINKING ESPRESSO AND MAKING PANCAKES. BEYOND THAT YOU ARE IN THE GREEN FOR CARRYING THE THING, WITH EVERY MINUTE OF HIGHER TEMPERATURES AND SUSTAINED HEAT IN YOUR FAVOUR.

A NORMAL POT WON’T GET YOU TO 100c BOILING TEMPERATURE AT ALTITUDE, WE ALL KNOW THAT, AND THE COLD UP THERE MEANS THINGS COOL FAST FROM WHATEVER THEY GET TO. EVEN HEAT EXCHANGES CAN ONLY ADDRESS SO MUCH OF THIS EQUATION, AND TO REALLY GET EFFICIENT YOU NEED THE PHYSICS OF THE PRESSURE COOKER. THE GENIUS HERE IS THAT YOU GET THEM TO PEAK PRESSURE, THEN TURN OFF THE GAS AND LET THEM COOK AWAY THEMSELVES. THIS IS EFFICIENCY AT IT’S FINEST AND CAN BE FURTHER ADVANCED WITH A HEAT EXCHANGER, BUT OF COURSE THE COOKER IS ALSO JUST A POT, AND IS USED TO MELT ICE, COOK NORMALLY AND JUST BOIL WATER. IT COULD EASILY BE THE ONLY POT A TEAM CARRIES

WE’VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THE SNOWLINE POTS, USING THEM IN XINJIANG AND TIBET UP ABOVE 5000m IN COLD DOWN TO -30c. BEFORE ANYONE ASKS, YES THESE THINGS ALSO IMPROVE MELTING ICE, APPROXIMATELY HALVING THE TIME REQUIRED FOR A CHORE THAT FAST BECOMES THE OVERWHELMING JOB ON EXPEDITIONS.

BEYOND THE FUEL EQUATIONS (OR PERHAPS AHEAD OF IT) IS THE NUTRITIONAL ONE, WHERE THINGS ELSEWHERE SEEN AS RIDICULOUS WE KNOW TO BE PERFECTLY VIABLE. FRESH RICE UNDER A TARP AT 5000m? FRESH BREAD? GOULASH, PILAF, BUTTER CHICKEN AND EVEN FUCKING CHILE CON CARNE – THESE THINGS CAN NOW BE MADE IN PLACES THAT BEFORE WERE THE HELL OF FREEZE DRIED GUNK. THIS ALL SENDS THE SINGLE MOST DEFINING FACTOR OF ALPINE SUCCESS THROUGH THE ROOF – FOOD – AND REMOVES THE PUNCTUATION OF AN EXPEDITION WHICH IS RECOVERY FROM SEVERE DEPLETION.

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THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THAT REALLY CARE ABOUT WHAT THIS POT IS MADE OF AND THE DETAILS OF PRESSURE COOKING, BUT WE DON’T REALLY CARE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IT WORKS. WE SEE FIRST HAND THAT – PAIRED WITH THE RIGHT STOVE OF COURSE – WE NOW EAT BETTER FOR LONGER AND HIGHER UP MOUNTAINS, WHICH IS EVERY BIT AS CRITICAL TO PUSHING EXPEDITION POSSIBILITIES AS INNOVATIONS IN TENTS etc.

THESE POTS ARE RUGGED, SIMPLE, RELIABLE AND IDIOT PROOF, AND THE VALVE MECHANISMS REQUIRE LITTLE MAINTENANCE OR LEARNING TO KEEP FROM TURNING INTO A BOMB. WE FOUND THE LID LOCK ACTUALLY IMPROVES WITH USE, AND AFTER WEEKS OF MANHANDLING THAT INCLUDES THE INCONSISTENT DILIGENCE OF HERDERS AND CARGO COMPANIES, WE HAVE NO DINGS OR DAMAGE.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THE SNOWLINE PRESSURE COOKER DESERVES A GOOD STOVE TO GO IN, ONE THAT IS GEARED AS A POWERHOUSE FOR SMALL TEAMS. FOR MINIMALIST PUSHES THIS IS NOT THE TOOL FOR THE JOB, WHERE THE ONLY DEMANDS ARE AS MUCH COFFEE, WATER AND GOOP AS YOU CAN GET DOWN, BUT FOR ANYTHING ELSE THAT DEMANDS TIME UP HIGH THE NUMBERS WORK WELL.

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