ANYTHING ABOVE 4000m, FOR MORE THAN 2 NIGHTS, ESPECIALLY IN OPEN BIVIES, NEEDS A DOUBLE BOOT. THE RESULT OF GETTING IT WRONG IS FROSTBITE AND/OR RESCUE AT WORST AND TIME WASTED EACH DAY DEALING WITH FROZEN BOOTS AT BIVIES AND BEST. YOU OWE IT TO THE TEAM TO HAVE THE RIGHT BOOTS.

BOOTS DON’T EXIST WITHOUT SOCKS AND THE SOCKS OF TODAY NEGATE THE CONCEPT OF THICK WOOL TRAPPING MOISTURE AROUND YOUR FEET FOR DAYS ON END. MID-WEIGHT PRIMALOFT SOCKS INSIDE A PAIR OF DOUBLE BOOTS IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF ALPINE FOOTWEAR AND HAS RESOLVED DECADES OF HAVING TO MAKE DO WITH SUBSTANDARD CHOICES.

THE RIGHT GLOVES ARE THOSE THAT PROTECT YOU FROM THE HARSHEST POSSIBLE ELEMENT OF A TRIP, NOT THE EASIEST. THIS USUALLY MEANS MITTS AND AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF SERIOUSLY INSULATED GLOVES.

GOOD GLOVES ARE AN INVESTMENT AND NEED TO BE TREATED WELL TO PERFORM AS THEY ARE SOLD TO. THIS MEANS TREATING LEATHER AND MATERIALS SEVERAL TIMES A SEASON. LIKE PUTTING JUNK SOCKS WITH GOOD BOOTS, FAILING TO SPEND ANOTHER $10 ON A TUBE OF TREATING WAX IS A FAILING OF THE CLIMBER NOT THE GLOVE. WE’VE SEEN GLOVES LAST A DECADE WITH THE 5-7TH YEARS BEING THE BEST.

A SERIOUS ALPINE CLIMBING PACK HAS MINIMAL OR NO FRAME, MINIMAL ZIPS AND BUCKLES TO BREAK AND GET FIDDLY WITH MITTS ON, DOESN’T HAVE COMPARTMENTS AND POCKETS, DOESN’T HAVE A CHUNKY HIP BELT AND HAS A LARGE DRAWSTRING TOP TO ALLOW GEAR TO BE DUMPED IN EASILY. THEY LOOK VERY SIMPLE WHICH MAKES THEM HARD TO SELL.

ALWAYS GO LARGER WHEN BUYING AN ALPINE BACK BECAUSE EVEN A SHORT TRIP HAS A LOT OF GEAR AND DAYS ARE TOO SHORT TO WASTE TIME SHOE-HORNING GEAR INTO SOMETHING TOO TIGHT OR LOSING GEAR DANGLING FROM THE OUTSIDE. IN A CRAMPED BIVY OR AT A BELAY YOU NEED TO GET STUFF IN AND OUT EASILY.

DON’T BE THE CLIMBER PROUD OF THEIR TINY PACK BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T FACTOR IN CARRYING TEAM GEAR AS WELL

IT’S FALLACY THAT -20c NEEDS A BIG -20c RATED SLEEPING BAG. WHAT MATTERS IS THE AMOUNT OF INSULATION AND THE WAY THAT WORKS OVERALL THAT MEANS ABOUT 1250g OF GOOD SLEEPING BAG WILL BE ENOUGH.

TWO LIGHT SLEEPING BAGS WITH A COMBINED WEIGHT OF 1250g ARE WARMER THAN A SINGLE BAG AND OFFER A LOT MORE ADAPTABILITY. THIS MEANS DOUBLING UP WITH A 500g BAG WILL WORK WELL AND COST YOU LITTLE. YOU NOW HAVE 2 BAGS TO USE UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, COMBINING BASED ON CONDITIONS

AN EXTRA $50 ON A SLEEPING MAT WILL SAVE YOU HUNDREDS ON YOUR SLEEPING BAG AS HEAT IS LOST MORE EFFICIENTLY THRU DIRECT CONTACT WITH A COLD SURFACE THAN IT IS VIA RADIATION.

INFLATABLE SLEEPING MATS CAN RETAIN A LOT OF WARMTH AND ARE MUCH SMALLER TO PACK THAN A FULL FOAM MAT. WHEN COMBINED WITH A HIGH GRADE SECTION OF FOAM YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT INSULATES WELL INTO HIGH WINTER CONDITIONS. FOR SERIOUSLY COLD STUFF, ANOTHER LAYER OF THAT FOAM TO SANDWICH THE INFLATABLE BETWEEN IS AS INSULATING AS AN ALPINE MAT CAN BE. CHOICE OF INSULATING MAT SHOULD REFLECT EASE OF USE, MAKING A THINNER, FOAM STRUCTURED ‘SELF-INFLATING’ MAT MUCH BETTER. IT ALSO FITS BETTER INSIDE A BIVY BAG.

LAUGH AWAY, BUT THE TOOLS YOU USE TO PREPARE YOUR FOOD IN ALPINE CONDITIONS ARE IMPORTANT. STUPID FOLDING BOWLS, ULTRALIGHT ALUMINIUM OR TITANIUM AND CRAP FROM COLOURFUL SETS OF PLASTIC JUNK HAVE NO PLACE ON A TINY LEDGE IN THE COLD.

NOT ONLY IS A PRIMARY LINK IN GETTING NUTRITION INTO YOUR SYSTEM, IT WILL LIKELY NEED TO DIG SNOW, COLLECT RUN OFF AND ACT AS A CRUSH PROOF CASE. TIME SPENT WITH ANY SERIOUS BIG WALLER OR 8000m CLIMBER WILL STRAIGHTAWAY SHOW YOU HOW IMPORTANT A CUP IS.

BASELAYERS KEEP YOUR SKIN DRY. THAT’S IT. THEY KEEP YOU WARM BY MINIMIZING HEAT LOSS INTO DAMP FABRIC, IT NEEDS TO DO NO MORE THAN MOVE ANY MOISTURE FROM SWEAT OR PRECIPITATION OUTWARDS. HAVING A ‘WARM BASELAYER’ MEANS YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE PROCESS WRONG.

THE BETTER A BASELAYER DRIES YOUR SKIN THE BETTER OTHER LAYERS WORK. ON MULTIDAY TRIPS THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO SEE HOW YOUR BASELAYER PERFORMS THAN THE MANY HOURS YOU SPEND IN A SLEEPING BAG – THE DRIER YOU ARE WHEN YOU GET IN, THE BETTER YOUR BAG WILL INSULATE YOU 3 NIGHTS DOWN THE LINE.

TOOLS NEED TO DO THE HARDEST JOB THEY CAN DO, WELL. YES A TOOL NEEDS TO ACT LIKE AN AXE ACROSS MILES OF MORAINE AND CHOP A LEDGE AND PLUNGE THRU SNOW – BUT THOSE JOBS CAN BE EASILY DONE WITH 50% REDUCED FUNCTION AND STILL WORK OUT. WHEN A TOOLS VALUE LAYS IS IN THE 10% OF LUNG-BURSTING, TERROR-DRIVEN, LIFE-AFFIRMING MOVES OUT ON THE EDGE WHERE CONSEQUENCES ARE PRETTY BINARY. JUST AS YOUR BOOTS ARE THERE FOR THAT 10% AND YOUR CUP CAN DIG A SNOW HOLE IF NEEDED, YOUR TOOLS NEED TO MAKE THOSE MOVES WHEN IT MATTERS AT THE SHARP END.

ON A MOUNTAIN CARRYING WATER FAST BECOMES THE #1 PRIORITY. THAT BOTTLE OF WATER REPRESENTS GETTING A LOT OF OTHER THINGS LINED UP RIGHT SO DESERVES ATTENTION. POURING MELTED SNOW INTO A REGULAR NALGENE THEN LETTING IT FREEZE IS STUPIDITY DEFINED ON AN ALPINE FACE.

A DECENT WATER BOTTLE IS LARGE (+/-1.5L) SO YOU NEED TO ONLY FILL IT TWICE A DAY, INSULATED SO IT KEEPS WATER AS WATER, HAS A CLIP LOOP SO ITS NOT DROPPED AT BELAYS AND HAS AN OPENING EASY TO DRINK FROM TODAY VACUUM FLASKS HAVE BECOME ROBUST AND CHEAP ENOUGH TO REPLACE PLASTIC BOTTLES AND THE FAIRLY SUB-PAR METHODS OF INSULATING THEM.