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The Light and Fast Thread


Bill_Simpkins

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If the weather looks good, bring no tent, just sleep out. (not such a good idea in winter.) stick sunscreen/bug dope into film cannister or other smaller portion things. Don't carry a bulky and heavy water filter. USe iodine, use a bottle that filters are you drink, boil it, or just risk it.

For dishes I can usually get away with an insulated mug and a spoon, plus some kind of bowl to heat food in. Never bring food that takes multiple steps or multiple cooked ingredients.

 

Cut down on gear weight by bringing fewer pieces of pro (every other stopper, and a few small cams). save on slings by just clove-hitching to a tree or anchor at the belay points. Every time you go try and use as little as possible, and if you don't use something on a couple trips, ditch it.

 

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The Golite Jam pack is great, it is a smaller version of the Gust but has compression straps. It is big enough to carry a full set of light alpine gear for multi day trips, but carries like a tiny climbing pack when you take out rack/rope to climb.

 

I have found that you can survive several nights of bad weather (heavy rain, ice and snow) sleeping in a 20 oz. Integral designs synthetic "bag liner" and a 7.5 oz. Montbell goretex bivy sack, wearing only wool long johns, 3 oz. nylon windshirt, socks, 3 oz. ballaclava, light schoeller pants and a set of very light rain shells. I was supposed to be wearing a light synthetic parka as well, but had to loan it to someone else. Sleeping this light is cold and miserable, but I stayed dry each night until being fully buried in snow on the fourth night out. I think the goretex was defeated by being smothered in snow. A siltarp to keep the snow off the bivy might have helped, a larger bivy would have been better too. Any emergency bivy should close up completely when the drawstring is cinched down.

 

The new compression sacks (granite gear) made of sil nylon, are ultra light and allow you to get a nice warm 2 pound synthetic bag, inside a bivy sack, into a small alpine climbing pack.

 

A big part of going very light is not carrying much in the way of extra garments. Anything you carry needs to function when wet and it must be possible to dry it while wearing it. Down is not good. Synthetic is good. I can get inside my synthetic bag wearing wet clothes and dry the clothes out with body heat. A synthetic bag can handle this; often down cannot. A few more ounces of sleeping bag allows you to stay warmer and drier with fewer garments, so it saves weight.

 

If you are using very light boots or approach shoes, carry some plastic bags to wear over your socks (inside the boots) when the going gets wet.

 

A couple of extra large slings, cordellettes, or webolettes can stretch a small rack because a really big sling around a really big rock is often all the anchor you need, stronger and faster to rig than a bunch of cams and biners and slings would be.

 

A light stove, extra fuel, and extra food can really pay off when you are benighted. Extra layers of insulation can't do much for you once hypothermia sets in; you need to keep your body fueled and hydrated.

 

Extra gloves really are worth the weight. Try to find some that can handle wetness.

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get those new energizer super batteries, lithium i think.

 

I believe bDubyaH is referring to the Energizer e2 (?) and I can second his recommendation. Since they're marketed for photographic applications, look in the camera section of your department store if you're having trouble finding them...

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pile you shit in a big heap and ask these questions to yourself.

1. do i NEED this. (ex, if there will be water avail, should I bring a stove. why not just eat non cook food..do I need my pack lid, two biners on each sling, do i really need two ropes or should I just commit!)

2. can this be lighter (ex, my sleeping bag/tent system got reduced last year w/a Moonstone Lucid bag, a betalite tarp, a bibler winter bivy, and a fucking thing yellow "hard-man" foam pad)

3. what can I double up a use with (gear for a spoon, nalgene for a mug, blah blah blah)

4. do I really need to go so light? I asked myself this question this year, now I bring a ton of shit into basecamp (if camping) and get a good meal and good nights sleep.

5. will ligher = faster? (i.e. how fast will I be approaching or downclimbing with my flip-flops..for me, pretty fast, for others, not so fast. will I climb fast after I just froze my ass of at the belay or last nights bivy? How fast will I climb if my rack is skimpy and I gotta decide to pro it up/put in more belays vs. a heavy rack and constant movement, and how much faster will I climb when I have 3 cams clipped to one biner on the rack, how much faster will belay change-overs be if we just have one pack vs. the leader has a pack too and can eat and drink while belaying up the 2nd. does my reverso save time as well as weight. why not carry a belay plate like a gi-gi and an atc. bring the 2nd up and put him on lead belay with the atc, this way the 2nd won't have to bother with clipping in while you switch up your reverso.)

 

just some thoughs

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Excellent points on all the above posts.But I am reminded of how the metality was to wear rock shoes 4 sizes to small and be in hella pain but be able to edge on an atom vs: fit larget and be able to actually climb comfortably with a slight loss of edging performance.

I have learned alot from the above tips and will be continually tweaking my setup, gunning for a substantial reduction in the junk I carry, BUT as an "older" climber, I would rather be in better shape and be able to carry some extraneous "creature comfort" junk in as well to increase my psych! factor :P.

thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

Great thread!

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I got the Serratus Genie too, it's great. I was just out yesterday though and noted that it had a little key-clippy thing in the flap pocket. Extra 3 grams!! Time for that to go.

 

thumbs_up.gif for the Genie. laugh.gif I cut out the key clip... frown.gif I regret it.

 

I'll think of more trix later...

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Bill mentioned sharing a nut tool. I find I use mine leading on alpine stuff as much as following, excavating nut placements and such. If you're doing a clean trade route, like N Ridge on Stuart, one is all you'll need, but if you're going adventuring you might really miss those extra ounces.

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don't take tp - use snowball

don't take stove. eat cold food.

find rocks to bivi under. dont take tent or bivi sack. kiwis are masters of this cause all the bivi caves are marked on their topo maps.

don't take any clothes but what you are wearing. this forces you to keep moving to keep warm.

pick a route you can solo. there goes weight of harnesses, ropes, gear.

wtf - don't even take food. Americans are the fattest people on earth. you can live for a day or two off your chub.

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wtf - don't even take food. Americans are the fattest people on earth. you can live for a day or two off your chub.

yelrotflmao.gif

i lost so much weight in china that i now have to eat a candybar just to walk across the street! ifin yer wantin to go light and fast i highly reccommend a headlamp...if it gets dark where you are. no reason to stop for a bivy in terrain suitable for night travel. and a 20' whipper is really exciting at night, both for the climber and the belayer watcher a light coming quickly towards him. also it's really great in a dimented/spooky kind of way when the headlamp falls off and drops for a few hundred meters. that's when the fun bivy begins!

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Please keep the spray somewhere else.

If you want a thread without debate, post to some other F'ing board.

 

Packing light-

cold food

tarp

lightweight sleeping bag

 

Skis-

Dynafits

Ski Crampons or boot crampons, not both

poles - whippet to substitute for regular ice axe

 

A real shovel, not the crappy ice axe shovel. If you ever want to dig anything (say a person) out in a reasonable time your up a creek.

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