Saturday, April 26, 2008

Gear

Climbing Denali involves a lot of gear. We will each have about 80 lbs of gear plus about 50 lbs of food to carry. About 40% of the weight will be in our packs, and the rest will be in duffle bags tied to sleds that we will pull to 14,000 ft. We will then leave the sleds and as much gear and food as possible, and carry only what we need to high camp.

Since we are going without a guide service, we had to provide all of the group gear and personal gear. Steve and Ben already had a lot of the personal gear from their previous trips to Denali, but Andy had to start from scratch. Luckily, he was able to borrow some of the most expensive gear (extreme temperature sleeping bag, down parka) from Mark Morford, who climbed the mountain in 2004.

Here is the list of group gear and personal gear for the climb. A few things will change, but this is pretty close. The price tag was several thousand dollars each.

Group Gear:




Personal Gear:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have done considerable hunting in the region you will be in. I would recommend 2 additions to Group First Aid:
1.Furosemide 40 mg tabs. This is a diuretic that can make a life and death difference in case of altitude cerebral edema or pulmonary edema which strikes fit climbers more than unfit climbers
2. A surgical stapler: Quickly and simply closes larger lacerations such as a long calf or forearm laceration from falling on a crampon (weighs 5 oz). Can be used more than once with reasonable cleanliness.

Anonymous said...

Group Repair: Black plastic electrical tape. Sticks to wet skin very well for reinforcing a bandage. Also fits flex joints because it stretches (knuckles and elbows) better than duct tape for repairs and can form a waterproof seal.

Anonymous said...

Andy,
I can't believe you factored in Whiskey and an I-Pod on this trip. I know thw whiskey will work hopw the I-Pod holds up too :)