Mark's logo View of the spectacular Haute Route.
Home/contact info
Mark's background
Recent photos
Skiing
Haute Route
Mountaineering
Equipment lists
Links
Fees
Stories, songs, etc
Dream calendar
weather & conditions
Mark's Blog: "What's new in the mountains this week?"
Mark's Blog
 
facebook
twitter


Photo credits: Mark Seaton collection, Charles Sherwood, John Norris, Jeff Brown & Faerthen Felix.
Site design: Faerthen Felix, 2005.

List for climbing | List for hut skiing | Equipment manufacturer web-sites | General advice

"A mountaineer's competence is often inversely proportional to the size of their rucksack"

Knowing what to pack and what to leave out is one of the key lessons of mountaineering. Nobody wants to be accused of "having all the gear and no idea".

All items marked with an asterisk (*) can be hired. Beside some items are specific brands & models of equipment which I use and highly recommend. All these items can be bought in Chamonix.


Alpine Climbing Equipment List.

Boots*: They should have stiff soles and accept a clip on crampon. Stiff means you cannot really bend them, even with considerable effort.

Crampons*: 12 points fitted with anti-balling plate.

Ice axe*: 55/65cm classic mountaineering axe.

Helmet*

Harness*: Black Diamond "Alpine Bod"

Rucksack: 40 litres climbing-style with no side pockets. The simplest and lightest.

Plastic rucksack liner: thick bin liner.

Gaiters: Black Diamond "Sportee Gaiter"

Anorak: with big hood.

Over-trousers: Highly water & wind resistant, these should have full-length zips to the waist. Mountain Equipment "DRI-lite"

Mountaineering trousers: These can be made of poly-cotton or supplex, or the best for high mountain climbing is a fabric called "Schoeller"

Thermal top such as high-wicking clothing. Cotton should be avoided- it is slow to dry and can make you very cold

Fleece jacket

Lightweight fleece: spare fleece

Thermal underwear long-johns

Socks

Warm gloves: With a removable inner for easy drying.

Thin gloves: Black Diamond "Dry Tool"

Wooly hat

Sun hat

Sunglasses: Wrap around high altitude lenses.

Water bottle or consider hands-free drinking: Camelback drinking system-2 litres

Head torch: Petzel "Tikka Plus"

Ear plugs: To block out the snorers in the huts!

Sun block: High protection factor. Piz Buin factor 30 or 50. Also consider "P20", bought from UK duty free shops. It has the advantage of only needing to be applied once a day.

Personal medical supplies, i.e. aspirin, Compeed or 2nd Skin plasters for blisters.

Camera: Small and light; something that can live round your neck.

 

Equipment List for Hut-to-Hut Ski Touring.

Ski-touring boots*: A good example is the Scarpa "Denali".

Alpine skis with touring bindings*: The skis must be fitted with brakes, skins & couteaux (ski crampons).

Velcro ski strap: This is used to make the skis into an A-frame in order to carry the skis on the rucksack.

Ski poles*: Avoid telescopic poles; they are not strong enough. Your normal ones will be fine. Avoid thin carbon fibre poles; these tend to be too thin to grip half way down the shaft.

Climbing crampons*

Rucksack: 40 litres capacity, it must have side straps for carrying skis. The simpler the design the better.

Plastic rucksack liner: thick bin liner.

Glacier harness*: i.e. climbing style seat harness. Black Diamond "Alpine Bod"

Avalanche Transceiver: 457 kHz compatible (included in my fee).

Waterproof anorak with large integral hood. Mountain Equipment "DRI-lite"; Patagonia lightweight alpine shell jackets

Waterproof ski pants or over trousers. Mountain Equipment "DRI-lite"

Fleece jacket

Thermal underwear: Patagonia "Capilene lightweight or silkweight"

Woolen socks: 2 pairs.

Warm gloves: Also consider bringing unlined leather gloves as worn by mountaineers. This is because gloves are often worn for protection rather than warmth. Gloves should have removeable fleece lining so that they are easier to dry.

Woolen ski hat or balaclava.

Sun hat: Peaked cap

Sun glasses

Goggles with bad weather lenses.

Water bottle: The hands free drinking tubes are brilliant for ski mountaineering. These allow you to drink while on the move. The Camel Back or Platypus two-litre model is recommended.

Head torch: Ideally this should be something like a Petzl "Tikka Plus" model.

Ear plugs: To block out the snorers in the huts!

Sun block: There are two main choices: "P20" is good as it only needs to be applied once a day can be bought at the Duty Free at UK airports. The best traditional sun screen is Piz Buin; get at least factor 30

Personal medical supplies, i.e. Compeed or 2nd Skin plasters for blisters, aspirins, Baby Wipes, i.e. Wet Ones. But make sure it's a small pack- you have to carry them.

Camera: This should be small and compact and be carried around your neck. It does not matter if you have the best camera in the world. You will not be able to take photos with it if it is stuck in your rucksack. Remember, in the surroundings you will find yourself it is pretty difficult to take a bad shot and you will get stunning results even with the disposable cameras.

General advice.

  • The items above which are in italics are examples of equipment which I use and recommend.
  • Try to choose a clothing system that is based on layers (these layers should not be cotton, but should be made from wicking materials). This way you can control your temperature much more easily than if you were wearing one thick jacket. It is important that you use an anorak that has a well-designed hood. You don't want a jacket with a flimsy nylon hood that pulls out of the collar. In short you need to choose clothes that are made for mountaineering rather than resort skiing.
  • There is no or very little running water in the mountain huts. All the water has to be melted from snow. Consequently there is virtually no opportunity to wash. So don't consider carrying a towel, soap, razors etc. A small flannel and a mini bar of soap would be considered a real luxury. It is for this reason that the inclusion of "Wet Ones" in your kit are recommended. They have been known to take on a form of currency between group members.
  • All the mountain huts have "hut clogs" it is therefore not necessary to carry an extra pair of shoes.
  • One of the major enemies of the ski tourer is weight. A rucksack that is too heavy can make skiing a nightmare. You should aim to carry only what is on the above list. In other words: If it is not on the list then you "probably" should not be carrying it!
 
home | background | photos | skiing | mountaineering | equipment lists | links | fees | stories, songs, etc. | calendar | weather & cams