HOW MUCH STUFF SHOULD I HAVE ?
EXPEDITION CLIMBING IS A GEAR INTENSIVE THING, COMPOUNDED FURTHER WITH ALTITUDE, REMOTENESS AND COLD. YES IT IS PRIMARILY MENTAL – A MIX OF STRATEGY AND ABILITY – BUT IT IS ALSO TOTALLY RELIANT ON EQUIPMENT TO GO INTO ENVIRONMENTS IMPOSSIBLE TO OTHERWISE. ALL THIS STUFF ADDS UP, A MIX OF PERSONAL AND TEAM GEAR, BECOMING LOADS THAT NEED TO BE FERRIED FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM TO HIGH ON A PEAK. YOU NEED STUFF TO TRAVEL, STUFF FOR THE APPROACH, STUFF TO SUBSIST AND STUFF FOR THE TECHNICAL PARTS, AND SOON IT BECOMES A LOT.
BUT NOT THAT MUCH.
DONE WELL, GEAR FOR EXTENDED TRIPS TO HIGH, REMOTE & COLD PEAKS CAN BE EASILY MANAGEABLE, WITH THE LOAD IN THE TITLE PHOTO BEING ALMOST EVERYTHING NEEDED FOR A 6000m ASCENT IN TIBET. THOSE PACKS ARE 120 AND 60L, WITH A COMBINED WEIGHT OF 30kg, AND INCLUDE A FAIR BIT OF TEAM GEAR AS WELL. BOTH PACKS EASILY FIT WITHIN AIRLINE HANDLING, THEN EVERY OTHER LINK IN THE CHAIN OUT TO THE MOUNTAIN, AND NEED VERY LITTLE REPACKING ALONG THE WAY.
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MODERN CLIMBING GEAR HAS BECOME SO LIGHT AND FUNCTIONAL, THAT THE DAYS OF HUGE DUFFELS – IN OUR CASE – ARE MOSTLY GONE. WE STILL USE BARRELS WHEN DEMANDED FOR SAFE RIVER CROSSINGS, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, HAVING LOADS ALREADY IN THE PACKS YOU WILL USE SIMPLIFIES THINGS HUGELY. THIS ALSO LEAVES OUT THE MATTER OF ‘THE DUFFEL BAG SHUFFLE’, WHERE STUFF GETS MOVED AND HANDLED IN LUMP BULK AND INEVITABLY MISPLACED. SEEMINGLY HALF OF SOME EXPEDITIONS IS FINDING YOU HAVE LEFT STUFF “BACK WITH YOUR DUFFEL”, BECAUSE THE THING IS SO LARGE AND MISPACKED AS TO BE MORE PROBLEM THAN SOLUTION.
ON THE GROUND, YOU WILL PROBABLY USE TWO PACKS AT THE SHARP END OF OUR TRIPS – ONE HUGE ONE TO MOVE LOADS AND ONE MEDIUM SIZED FOR ACTUALLY CLIMBING IN AND FOR SHORT FORAYS. THIS SHOULD BE THE SUM OF YOUR LUGGAGE, ASIDE FROM A CARRY ON, AND IF YOU FIND YOU HAVE MORE YOU NEED TO THINK WHY.
OUR TRIPS ARE HYPER-EFFICIENT, RELATIVELY FAST, AND DON’T HAVE LOTS OF DOWNTIME THAT NEEDS DISTRACTIONS TO FILL. OUR EXTREMELY HIGH RATIOS OF MOUNTAIN-DAYS MEANS THAT YOU LIVE IN YOUR GEAR ONCE LEAVING THE TOWNS, MAKING A SIMPLE DISTINCTION FOR THE GEAR THAT YOU NEED. THERE WON’T BE WEEKS OF HANGING AROUND, OR LOUNGING AT ALTITUDE, SO YOU WON’T NEED LOTS OF COMFORTS AND CHANGES OF CLOTHES. TRIPS ARE ORGANIZED INTO DISCREET PHASES WHERE YOU NEED ONLY TO GEAR UP FOR THE JOB, AND ONCE UP AND CLIMBING YOU ARE IMMERSED IN IT AND HAVE NO USE FOR ANYTHING ELSE.
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GO THROUGH THE GEAR LISTS PROVIDED AND CONSIDER THEM 99% COMPLETE, NOT NEEDING EMBELLISHMENTS, EXTRAS OF ANYTHING, ANY ‘THOUGHT I MIGHTS’ OR ‘COULDN’T DECIDES’, AND TREAT AS A RED FLAG THE OLD TROPE OF ‘BETTER TO HAVE IF YOU MIGHT NEED IT BLAH BLAH BLAH’. THIS STUFF HAS ALL BEEN WORKED OUT OVER HUNDREDS OF TRIPS, AND THE TIME TO GET SERIOUS WITH YOUR GEAR DECISIONS IS AT HOME NOT OUT IN HIGH CAMP. HAVE THE IMPORTANT STUFF THAT IS LISTED AND CONSIDER THE REST SUPERFLUOUS, ADDING WEIGHT, BULK AND DISTRACTION FROM WHAT YOU REALLY NEED.
MORE GEAR DOESN’T EQUATE TO MORE CHOICES AND MORE COMFORT, IT EQUATES TO MORE COMPLEXITY, MORE WHITE NOISE AND A LESS STREAMLINED PROCESS. THE FINEST CLIMBERS WE SEE SHOW UP WITH REFINED AND TESTED GEAR USED IN DEFINED WAYS, THAT IS ALL STREAMLINED AND TESTED AND THAT THEY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN. THEIR LOADS ARE SMALL NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE FANCIEST HIGH TECH STUFF OR RUN ON SPARTAN METHODOLOGIES, BUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE WHAT WORKS SO DON’T NEED ANYTHING ELSE. EXPEDITION GEAR SHOULD BE ALMOST ALL TESTED WELL BEFORE SHOWING UP, AND IT’S A SIGN OF POOR PREPARATION HAVING A BUNCH OF EXTRA GEAR THAT DOESN’T INTEGRATE.
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ON OUR TRIPS IT’S TIME TO SHRUG OFF MANY OUTDATED IDEAS, INCLUDING THAT OF THE DUFFEL-LADEN TRAVELLER PUSHING A HUGE CART THROUGH ARRIVALS. THE CLIMBER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MODERN EQUIPMENT, STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES APPEARS NOTHING LIKE THE HIGH-ALTITUDE TOURISTS SHOWING UP IN KATHMANDU, AND THE CONTENTS OF THEIR LUGGAGE REFLECTS THIS IN MORE STREAMLINED AND FOCUSED LOADS.
IF YOUR LOADS ARE MUCH OVER WHAT WE SUGGEST YOU NEED TO ASK YOUR SELF WHY, AND THINK HOW IT WILL AFFECT THINGS ALL DOWN THE LINE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT IS BEYOND WHAT IS LISTED AND HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY IT? WHAT ARE YOU BEING DISTRACTED BY, MISSING THE POINT OF OR NOT SEEING IN CONTEXT?
STUFF SHOULD BE PACKED ACCORDING TO HOW IT WILL BE USED, WHICH INCLUDES BEING FERRIED BETWEEN VEHICLES, STRAPPED ONTO ANIMALS AND YOMPED UP TO HIGH CAMPS. THIS MEANS YOUR HUGE PACK CAN HAVE ALL YOUR ‘UP HIGH GEAR’ AND BE PACKED THAT WAY AT HOME, READY TO PICK UP FROM WHERE THE HORSES OR CAMELS LEAVE IT, AND SEAMLESSLY KEEP THE TIMELINE. THE NORMAL SIZED PACK IS WHAT GETS YOU FROM THE ROAD TO THE LIMITS OF THE ANIMALS, NEEDING NO MORE THAN A FEW DAYS STUFF TO LIVE OUT OF. AGAIN THIS SHOULD BE ARRANGED AT HOME, NEEDING MINIMAL REPACKING IN HOTELS, WHICH WASTES TIME DURING THE EARLY PHASE OF A TRIP WHERE THERE’S A MILLION OTHER THINGS TO DO.