Below is a general list of personal gear for going out on a full day of climbing. For the personal climbing equipment in the list, we find it’s nice to make use of your own gear, that way you are familiar with it and it may be your custom choice. If you don’t have some of the climbing equipment listed or if we feel it is not suited for the given climbing objectives, we will help you to find the right gear (provided or rented). Any questions regarding anything in the list will be discussed after booking your appointment and before the outing. All other group gear will be provided by the guide.
Personal Gear
- Clothing appropriate for the season or given day
- Approach shoes (La Sportiva TX series, or Black Diamond Mission series)
- 30-40L top loading backpack for day trip, 50-70L for overnight/multi-day
- Headlamp
- Water bottle(s) 1-2L
- Thermos (winter)
- Food and snacks
- Sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hoodie
- Helmet (Petzl Sirocco or Boreo)
- Harness (Multiple to choose from depending on activity)
- Belay device (Petzl Reverso)
- 3 – locking carabiners (1 – Petzl Attache, 2 – Petzl Sm’D Screw Lock)
- 1 – non-locking carabiner (Camp Photon or Petzl Ange L)
- 4′ Nylon sling (Black Diamond 18mm Nylon Runner)
- Prusik cord (4′ – 6mm accessory cord tied in loop, or Sterling Auto Block/Hollow Block)
- Climbing shoes / Mountaineering Boots
- Chalk bag (When rock climbing)
Glacier Travel Personal Gear
In addition to items listed in personal gear list above.
- Petzl Nano Traxion or Micro Traxion
- 4′ dyneema sling (Mammut Contact Sling 8.0 or Black Diamond 10mm Dynex Runner)
- 16′ cordelette (Sterling V-TX 5.4 or 7mm Accessory Cord)
- 2 – small locking carabiners (Camp Photon Locker or Petzl Sm’D Screw Lock)
- 1 – alpine draw (2 – full size wire gate carabiners, 2′ dyneema sling)
- 1 – Triple action locking carabiner (Petzl Sm’D Triact)
- 1 – Aluminum ice screw 21-22cm (Petzl Laser Speed or Black Diamond Ultralight)
- Glacier harness (Petzl Altitude)
Mountaineering Boots
- La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX
(Durable all around ice climbing and glacier travel/alpine boot) - Scarpa Phantom 6000 HD
(Double wall boot if you have cold feet or traveling to higher altitudes) - Scarpa Phantom Tech
(Technical ice/alpine climbing boot for “warmer” alpine/ice temps) - La Sportiva Aequilibrium Top GTX
(Summer alpine/glacier boot)
Ice Tools, Crampons
- Camp X-Dream (Technical Ice tools)
- Black Diamond Venom 50 cm (Technical Mountaineering, Adze if only bringing one tool)
- Petzl Gully (Ski Mountaineering / Lightweight Alpine)
- Petzl Irvis Crampons + Dart front point attachment + Back Flex attachment (This gives you a modular setup to do anything, Additionally add Cord-Tec kit for Ski Mountaineering)
Backpacks
- Camp M-Tech (ice climbing day pack, alpine summit pack)
- North Face Cinder 40 (rock climbing crag pack)
- Arc Teryx Alpha FL 40 (all around crag/alpine pack)
- Black Diamond Speed 50 (overnight alpine pack)
- Mountain Hardwear Alpine Light 50 (overnight alpine pack)
- Black Diamond Creek 20 (Red Rocks day pack)
- Gregory Nano 14 (on route mutli-pitch pack)
- Mountain Hardwear AMG 75 (multi-day alpine pack)
- Mountain Hardwear UL 20 (pack-able ultralight summit pack)
Sleeping Bags
- Winter Lower Elevation or Fall/Spring Alpine Bag
- Summer Alpine Bag
Winter Clothing
Winter Layering for Ice Climbing (and ski touring), all the below items are part of a minimum list for a day out during a cold day in a dynamic environment. This list is a suggestion based on decades of personal experience, items may need to be added or can be removed from the list depending on individual body preferences (cold tolerance/conditioning), and weather variables. Examples mostly link to Men’s versions of Outdoor Research and Marmot gear, but any similar items from other reputable outdoor clothing/climbing companies are perfectly fine and most companies have the same product in the Women’s version.
- Base layers:
- Bottoms:
- https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/mens-alpine-onset-bottoms-283213 thinner layer for warmer days or high output fast moving days
- https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/mens-vigor-bottoms-277597 thicker for colder, slower days
- Tops:
- Bottoms:
- Soft Shell Pants: main outer layer for bottoms, durable for abrasion resistance
- Hard Shell Pants:
- If it’s really wet out or extreme wind maybe, but usually not durable enough generally, so don’t bring any. Full zip legs so they can zip on without removing boots. Using gaiters additionally can protect hard shell pants from crampons.
- Tops:
- Mid layer – insulation, sometimes as outer layer if warmer and not wet
- Outer Shell – wind and water protection (good to get a size up to accommodate for layers below)
- Puffy – staying warm when not moving (good to get a size up to accommodate for layers below)
- Gloves: (At least 2 pair for when one gets wet and for different temps, should also consider mittens for a 3rd pair for really cold days)
- https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/mens-bitterblaze-aerogel-gloves-277619
- https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/mens-arete-ii-gore-tex-gloves-300013
- https://www.marmot.com/men/accessories/mens-exum-guide-glove/AFS_195115021313.html
- https://www.camp.it/m/us/us/outdoor/product/3620
- https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/recon-mitts/
- https://www.go2marine.com/showa-282-temres-gloves
- Synthetic/wool underwear
- Synthetic/wool socks 2 pair system 1-thin/1-thick, or one thick pair on warmer day
- Winter hat that fits under helmet
- Buff/neck gaiter
- Goggles (for windy days)
*Cotton kills, doesn’t dry in cold temps, synthetic and wool is the way to go…