Excuse the list format but I thought I’d cut and paste from a gear list a friend drew up for an expedition we undertook with small group from the Exploration Society of Southern Africa (of which we are both members) in 2003 to Mount Mera (6475m), one of the highest of the “trekking peaks” in Nepal. There was a group of almost ten of us so my mate Gareth prepared this for many of the newbies who didn’t have any experience about 3000m. It proved really useful and hopefully will be a good guide for anyone else who is preparing a trip to Nepal, Aconcagua or anywhere else that is off the beaten track and high up.
On the left is a generic list of kit, under the notes I’ve listed some of the pieces of gear that I used.
| Mountain gear | Notes | |||
| Goretex jacket with hood | Marmot liquid steel | |||
| Goretex windproof pants or Sellopettes | South African brand from Cape Union Mart (since fallen apart) | |||
| 300 Series polar fleece jacket | Polartec thermal pro (great fleece, lasted well) | |||
| 300 Series polar fleece jacket | No-name fleece ripoff that piled pretty soon | |||
| 200 Series polar fleece pants | Powerstretch tights work well here | |||
| Down Jacket | From First Ascent in S. Africa – great value | |||
| Synthetic long sleeve thermal underwear top | ||||
| Synthetic thermal underwear long-johns | ||||
| Pairs of thick socks – 70% wool | ||||
| Hiking boots with ankle support | I used my Karrimor KSB 300 | |||
| Spare laces | Make sure your laces are new, take a spare set between 2 people | |||
| Pair double plastic boots | I used hired Scarpa Vegas in pretty bad shape | |||
| Thin polypro gloves |
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| Middle layer gloves: windproof | For your two outerlayer gloves, I suggest attaching a cord from each glove to the sleeve of your jacket so that if you take off your glove in the wind it does not blow away. | |||
| Windproof waterproof over-gloves (Mits) | ||||
| Balaclava/beenie/wool hat | ||||
| Scarf/neck warmer | ||||
| Glacier glasses | Must allow minimal unflitered light to reach your eyes. | |||
| Gaiters or super-gaiters | ||||
| Ski poles | ||||
| Climbing harness (large enough to go outside many layers of gear) | ||||
| Figure 8 or belay device | ||||
| Harness locking biner | ||||
| Standard locking biner | ||||
| Jumar | ||||
| Long prussik loops | ||||
| Pair crampons | ||||
| Equipment sling | ||||
| Ice axe (Apline hiking axe: 60 cm or longer) | ||||
| Survival space blanket | Essential backup | |||
| Mountain equipment: | ||||
| Sleeping mat/thermarest | ||||
| Sleeping bag rated to –15 degrees | ||||
| Ground sheet | ||||
| 80 litre backpack bag | ||||
| Day pack 35 litres | ||||
| Large plastic bags to keep backpack dry | ||||
| Backpack plastic liners | ||||
| Kit bag to leave at hotel | ||||
| Head torch | Pezl Tikka (reviewed here) | |||
| Head torch batteries | ie 3 sets of spares | |||
| 1 litre insulated water bottles | ||||
| Thermos flask (plastic) | ||||
| Pee bottle | ||||
| 10meters of 3 mm cord | ||||
| General Clothing: | ||||
| Pairs of cotton socks | ||||
| Strops | ||||
| Underwear | ||||
| T-shirts | ||||
| Trousers/Tracksuit | ||||
| Jersey | ||||
| Shorts | ||||
| Change of clothes for flight back | ||||
| Hat/cap | ||||
| Medication | ||||
| Suntan lotion (Factor 20 plus) | ||||
| Toiletry Kit | ||||
| Towel | ||||
| Lip balm | ||||
| Wet wipes | ||||
| Toilet paper | ||||
| Personal medication | ||||
| Headache tablets | ||||
| Diamox tablets | ||||
| Immodium (stomach tablets) | ||||
| Valoid tablets (nausea tablets) | ||||
| Moleskin for blisters | ||||
| Water purification tablets | ||||
| Check with your doctor for anything special you need | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Duffel bag for gear 80L | ||||
| Passport | ||||
| Spending money | ||||
| Moon bag | ||||
| Snacks, energy sweets, & Biltong | ||||
| Chocolate | ||||
| Drinking mug | ||||
| Knife, spoon. fork set | ||||
| Large eating bowl | ||||
| Lighters | ||||
| roll of duct tape | ||||
| Zip lock bags | always a good idea | |||
| Sewing kit | ||||
| Leatherman tool/Swiss army knife | ||||
| Optional | ||||
| Video cam recorder | ||||
| GPS system | ||||
| Book/magazine | ||||
| Chess set | ||||
| Playing cards | ||||
| Altimeter | ||||
| Camera tripod | ||||
| Sleeping bag inner liner | ||||
| Camera | ||||
| Camera batteries | ||||
| Camera spools | ||||
| Hand warmers | ||||
| Thermometer | ||||
| Compression stuff sack | ||||
| Ski goggles | ||||
| Walkman | ||||
| Ear plugs | ||||
| Travel soap for clothes | ||||