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Expedition/Alaska Food


TimL

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A friend of mine wll be going to Alaska for a two week climbing course and asked me what I would bring for food. I know what I would bring but I wanted to hear some suggestions on what other people would bring that would offer some variety from day-to-day. My staples would be mashed potatoes, tuna, soup and oatmeal with a bunch of candy and energy bars as well as gu. Thanks. bigdrink.gif

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Note: I'm a vegetarian + fish-eater

 

I think instant oatmeal has essentially zero value as fuel. I still take it on short winter trips because it is quick, warm, and easy, but I always have an energy crash about one hour later. thumbs_down.gif

 

If you can find them, instant grits are the SHIZNIT for breakfast. Make sure the ones you get are INSTANT because real grits take a lot of boiling time. Add butter and hot sauce (Franks is my favorite)! thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

 

Any kind of pasta+cheese combo are great for dinner. Add foil-packaged tuna or smoked salmon for protein and gustatory delight! Put butter and cheese in everything. Miso soup is good. Chai tea is good. Lots of hot liquids are good good good.

 

For lunches, bagels+cheese, powerbars or equivalent, etc.

 

Deserts (DON'T OVERLOOK DESERT!) Instant pudding is good. Add powdered milk, water, stir, mmmmm...

 

Candy (I really liked fruit-flavored Mentos when I was in AK for some reason???) Bring an assortment thumbs_up.gif

 

Buy a food dehydrator and you can make some really tasty+cheap stuff. Dehydrating a bunch of veggies (onions, peppers, etc) weighs nothing and adding them to pasta+cheese dishes makes things more interesting. Try things out at home before you go.

 

NOLS says 2lbs total food/person/day which is generous.

 

Gatorade powder thumbs_up.gif Plain water gets old and you want to drink as much as possible. Sugar, electrolytes and yellow #5 will make this sometimes onerous task more pleasant.

 

Do NOT take instant TVP chili, maybe just avoid TVP altogether :stinkyfartinggremlin:

Edited by Alpinfox
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FUCK DEHYDRATED BULLSHIT

 

Even if you gotta carry da shizzle???

 

Carry it off the plane onto the glacier.

For actual on-routes, its all about pizza in a cup. Instant soup with cheese and horsecock. Eat GU and snickers all day. Then before bivy or rest, east pizza in a cup to recover.

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as a southern, i must agree big time w/ the grits comment...i mixed 'em w/ olive oil to boost the calories

 

my fav food was annie chun's line of stuff...pad thai, peanut sauce, garlic sauce, etc. very tasty and lightweight, even w/ the sauce packs.

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Those store-bought, $7/package, Mountain-Aire things are definitely bullshit and I've never bought any of them. I did score a bunch from the 'free box' at Talkeetna Air Taxi, but I haven't eaten them. However, I've had some damn tasty homemade dehydrated stuff.

 

Dehydrated veggies added to pasta+cheese or soup or whatever are mighty tasty. Dehydrated fruit (Mangoes! Bananas!) are really tasty and good for you. My dried mangoes were really popular on the glacier and I was able to trade them for good stuff. thumbs_up.gif

 

I've heard of people dehydrating entrees (like Pad Thai from your favorite local restaurant) and supposedly that works pretty well too.

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quality wise, i think people bash dehyrdy stuff ad nauseum... personally, i think some of the stuff tastes pretty good...but the fact that it looks almost identical when you shit it out does make me wonder if the body's actually deriving any benefit from it. my denali partner brought a bunch of dehryrdated stuff 'cuz he's wealthy and single and has nothing else to spend his money on...we used 'em for our high camp, which i thought was a good idea as the dehyrdated stuff was a lot lighter than our better tasting, more nourishing low-altitude foods

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instant cheesecake in a box. someone in new zealand had one and all they did was set it out in the snow in the shade behind the hut and it set up fine. probably something you wouldn't eat at sea level but very tasty after being out for 12 hours.

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Freeze dried stuff is heavy for its caloric content (the chili I had a few weeks ago was 6oz for 700 calories..pathetic) and they cost as much per calorie as GU. And they tend not to have much fat wazzup.gif. I don't buy/eat them (I did not pay for the chili). thumbs_down.gif

 

Pringles rule. fruit.gif

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horsecock

vanilla halvah

granola

gummi bears for sugar rushes

red lentils and curry powder

bacon, bacon, bacon.

pancakes.

 

 

if you hit a bulk foods store that's any good, like Famous Foods in vancouver, you can get wicked stuff like whole milk powder, powdered eggs, dehydrated chili etc. one to two scoop per person per day

 

in general it is useless to carry water. so bring in fuel instead and use that to melt water. this goes for your drinks too, bring in the strongest alcohol you can get (everclear?) and dilute it to taste. bigdrink.gif

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Instant cheese cakes are the schizzle! We made plenty of friends on Denali with them last year and even helped folks celebrate their birthdays. Plus all the squeeze butter helps for energy.

 

Tasty Bites Rock, but are getting rediculously expensive (I saw $4.50 i nthe grocery store).

 

Instant grits, mashed potatoes, pasta at lower elevations, and any type of burritos you can imagine. To cut down on fuel if out for a long time, think of using a small pressure cooker. Heavier than normal pots, but cooks rice and beans and real grits super fast! Don't take pasta if going to high elevations 15,000+ as it turns to goo, and what truely makes a meal is the condiments. You can stomach anything with some tabasco, garlic powder, olive oil and butter anyday!

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