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ON THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 THERE WON’T BE THE LARGE TENT VILLAGES LIKE YOU SEE AT THE LOWER CAMPS ELSEWHERE, SO YOU WON’T BE HANGING AROUND WITH OTHER CLIMBERS OR HAVE MUCH CHANCE TO SWAP OUT CLOTHES. THERE ALSO WON’T BE SHERPAS FERRYING LOADS BETWEEN CAMPS, OR LARGE COMMERCIAL TEAMS TO ARRANGE GEAR SHARES WITH. ON THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2 YOUR CLOTHING HAS TO WORK EXTRA HARD.
WE WORK ON THE PHYSICAL FACT THAT THE BODY LOSES HEAT ALMOST EQUALLY ACROSS ALL OF IT’S SURFACE, EVEN IF YOU CAN’T FEEL IT. THIS MEANS THAT ALTHOUGH YOUR LEGS DON’T FEEL THE COLD LIKE YOUR TORSO DOES DUE TO HAVING LESS NERVE ENDINGS, HEAT IS LEAKING OUT OF THEM AT THE SAME RATE. LIKE WISE VENTING HEAT FROM THE LEGS IS AS EFFECTIVE AS VENTING IT FROM THE TORSO.
ON K2’s NORTH SIDE YOU NEED 3 1/2 LAYERS. THIS ENSEMBLE IS SIMPLE, STREAMLINED, ADAPTABLE AND EASY TO MANAGE.
1) NEXT TO SKIN
2) LIGHT INSULATION LAYER
3) SHELL LAYER
4) DOWN LAYER
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NEXT TO SKIN
YOUR LAYER AGAINST YOUR SKIN HAS ONE JOB TO DO – KEEP YOUR SKIN DRY. THAT’S IT. IF IT DOESN’T, BY OVER-HEATING OR UNDER-PERMIABILITY, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT GOES ON TOP WILL BE COMPROMISED. ALL YOU NEED IS A LAYER OF DRY AIR AGAINST YOUR SKIN THAT MINIMIZES YOUR BODY STARTING TO SWEAT. THIS LAYER HAS NO NEED TO BLOCK WIND OR EVEN REALLY INSULATE BECAUSE OTHER LAYERS DO THAT BETTER. LEAVE THIS LAYER TO DO IT’S ONE JOB AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.
WE ADVOCATE A TWO PIECE (BUT WELL OVERLAPPING) LAYER OF OPEN-WEAVE, WICKING, SYNTHETIC MATERIAL THAT INCLUDES A HOOD. THIS MEANS FABRICS YOU CAN BREATHE EFFORTLESSLY THROUGH, THAT ARE MORE AIR THAN MATERIAL, INCLUDING MESH. LAYERS THAT ARE TOO CLOSE-WEAVE ARE TOO HARD TO VENT, WHICH RULES OUT 90% OF BASELAYERS OUT THERE. THIS LAYER NEEDS CONFORM TO THE BODY WITHOUT BEING TIGHT AND NEEDS TO KEEP IT’S FORM.
AS NICE AS WOOL IS THERE ARE SYNTHETICS THAT ARE MUCH BETTER NOW.
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MIDLAYER
THE NEXT JOB A CLOTHING SYSTEM FOR K2 NEEDS TO ACHIEVE IS TO INSULATE. UNLIKE THE PAKISTAN SIDE WHERE THE LOWER SLOPES BAKE IN THE SUN, THE NORTH RIDGE STARTS COOLING FROM THE GLACIER. SOMETIMES, A SHELL LAYER (SEE NEXT) WILL BE ENOUGH, BUT A MIDLAYER IS USUALLY NEEDED UNTIL THE FULL INSULATION LAYER GOES ON.
ON THE NORTH RIDGE YOU WON’T BE HANGING AROUND IN LARGE CAMPS SO MIDLAYERS ARE FOR CLIMBING IN NOT LOUNGING IN. THEY NEED TO BE LIGHT, NOT TOO WARM, VENTABLE & TOUGH ENOUGH FOR THE CLIMBING. THEY NEED TO COVER A WIDE RANGE IN BODY & AMBIENT TEMPERATURE. THIS IS DONE WITH A MEDIUM WEIGHT SYNTHETIC LAYER TOP & BOTTOM USING SOMETHING LIKE PRIMALOFT GOLD OR THERMOPLUME. IT IS WORTH SPENDING MONEY HERE BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING YOU WILL LIVE IN AND GOOD SYNTHETICS ACT ALSO IN THE PLACE OF A SHELL TO SOME EXTENT, KEEPING WATER OUT.
‘FLEECES’ DON’T FIT THE BILL HERE, BEING TOO BULKY & NOT WARM ENOUGH FOR THE WEIGHT. THIS INCLUDES INSULATIED GARMENTS THAT HAVE FLEECE PANELS AS THEY WON’T BE AS CONSISTENTLY WARM.
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SHELL
YOUR MIDLAYERS WILL DO THE JOB OF A SHELL MUCH OF THE TIME BUT LOW DOWN OR IN MARGINAL WEATHER A SHELL LAYER IS NEEDED. THE SHELLS ONE JOB IS TO BLOCK WIND & PRECIPITATION.
ALPINE SHELLS ARE SIMPLE PROTECTIVE LAYERS, NOT THE COMPLICATED HYBRID JACKETS FOR LOWER ALTITUDE CLIMBING. THEY ARE HARDSHELLS, NOT SOFTSHELLS, WITH MINIMAL POCKETS & GIMMICKERY, THAT FIT OVER THE MIDLAYERS EASILY.
SHELL JACKETS CAN BE LIGHT VERSIONS OF THE WELL KNOWN MEMBRANE FABRICS, SMALL ENOUGH TO STASH IN THE LID OF A PACK, BUT NOT AS LIGHT AS THE TINY WINDSHELLS STEVE HOUSE GOT EVERYONE WEARING 15 YEARS AGO. A BRIGHT VISIBLE COLOUR HAS OBVIOUS REASONS, A HOOD THAT FITS OVER YOUR HELMET, AND VELCRO CUFFS TO HELP VENT.
SHELL TROUSERS CAN BE BURLIER BECAUSE THEY NEED TO COPE WITH CONTACT WITH ROCK. THEY ALSO NEED LEG ZIPS AND A SECURE WAIST BAND. SALOPETTES CAN BE USEFUL AS THEY PROTECT THE WAIST, BUT NEED TO BE REMOVABLE WITHOUT TAKING OFF YOUR TOP LAYERS WHICH FEW ARE (CUTTING THE SUSPENDERS OFF CAN WORK OK). BECAUSE YOUR BOOTS HAVE SUPER-GAITERS, INTEGRATED GAITERS IN YOUR TROUSERS CAN BE REMOVED.
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INSULATION
YOUR OUTER INSULATION CHOICES ARE BIG TICKET ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE RIGHT LIGHT. ALL BIG DOWN LAYERS ARE WARM, CERTAINLY WHEN FROM COMPANIES THAT MAKE THEM SPECIFIC TO EXTREME COLD CLIMBING, SO THE IMPORTANCE IS IN THE FUNCTIONS.
UNLIKE MOST 8000m ROUTES, YOU WILL NOT ONLY WEAR YOUR DOWN LAYER FOR THE FINAL STAGES. ON THE NORTH SIDE OF K2, WITHOUT OXYGEN AND THE LARGE SCALE LOGISTICS TO SUPPORT IT, YOU WILL USE YOUR SUIT FROM LOWER DOWN.
FOR VERSATILITY, TWO-PIECE SUITS REDUCE A LOT OF WEIGHT AND BULK. AS EFFICIENT AS ONE-PIECE SUITS ARE, THEY ARE TOO WARM LOWER DOWN AND NECESSITATE CARRYING OTHER LAYERS, AND SHORT OF CUSTOM FITTED ARE NOTORIOUS FOR FIT ISSUES – UNWELCOME CONSIDERING THE CLIMBING AND TIME IT WILL BE USED FOR.
TWO PIECE SUITS CAN BE MIXED FROM DIFFERENT BRANDS TO GET THE BEST FIT AND FUNCTION, AND SHOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE ON FEATURES. THOUGH UNCOMMON NOW, FOR OXYGEN-LESS ASCENTS, SUITS CAN DO AWAY WITH SOME OF THE FEATURES THAT ADD TO MOST SUITS BULK.
IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER IS A POCKET SYSTEM COMPATIBLE WITH THE GLOVES, WATERBOTTLES AND OTHER GEAR YOU USE. FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS HAS FOUND GOOD SUCCESS WITH THE LATEST MONTANE APEX 8000 SUIT THAT REDUCES THE NEED TO OPEN THE JACKET TO MANAGE GEAR IN INTERIOR POCKETS.
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SOCKS
YOUR INNER BOOTS DO THE INSULATING, NOT YOUR SOCKS. A LOT OF CLIMBERS GET THIS WRONG. LIKE THE REST OF YOUR BASELAYER, THE JOB OF A SOCK IS TO BE A DRY LAYER AGAINST YOUR SKIN, RULING OUT THE EFFICAY OF HAVING THICK WOOL SOAKING AWAY AROUND YOUR FEET FOR DAYS ON END.
SOCKS FOR COLD PEAKS NEED TO BE SYNTHETIC SO THEY DRY FAST, THIN SO THEY RETAIN MINIMAL MOISTURE, CALF LENGTH & GOOD QUALITY. WE LIKE SOCKS MADE FROM PRIMALOFT YARN (NOT THE PUFFY INSULATION).
A MENTION HERE WILL GO TO INSULATED TENT BOOTIES, A GOOD IDEA AS THEY ALLOW YOU TO DRY YOUR FEET & INNER BOOTS SEPERATELY. ONES WITH ROBUST SOLES LASTING MUCH LONGER THAN WITHOUT.
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HEAD
YOU DON’T LOSE 70% OF YOUR BODIES HEAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD, YOU LOSE ABOUT 12%, SIMILAR TO AN ARM, ENOUGH TO TAKE SERIOUSLY BUT NOTHING TO PANIC OVER. THE THING IS YOU FEEL IT MORE BECAUSE YOUR HEADS FULL OF NERVE TISSUE, AND THE EFFECTS OF COLD AFFECT SPEECH & MORALE AT THE MINIMUM, AND TISSUE & NERVE FUNCTION AT THE MOST.
YOUR HEAD NEEDS TO BE WELL PROTECTED WITH LAYERS THE SAME AS YOUR BODY, SO CLOTHING THAT EXTENDS INTO HOODS AND A GOOD BEANIE MOSTLY SOLVES THAT (DRY BASE / GENERAL INSULATION / WIND PROOFING & EXTREME INSULTION).
THE FACE NEEDS SPECIAL PROTECTION IN THE FORM OF SUNGLASSES (2 PAIRS, UP TO CAT 4) AND GOGGLES (ORANGE OR MAGENTA LENSES FOR LOW CONTRAST) AND A WINDPROOF MASK THAT COVERS THE NOSE. A BUFF WILL NOT DO THE JOB OF A WIND MASK, WHICH IDEALLY IS A MEMBRANED FABRIC WITH A FUZZED OUTER FACING, BUT A BUFF IS GOOD FOR SUN PROTECTION & AS A GENERAL ITEM FOR EVERYTHING FROM A MOUTH COVER WHILST YOU SLEEP TO MOPPING UP SPILLS.
