Must Have Denali Gear

[snowbound]

I am looking at doing Denali next year. Please give me a list of the one or two pieces of gear that you used on the hill and thought were the best for the job. This could be anything, bag, parka, radio, etc... I know all the gear on the list and am looking for what you think was the best of the best.

 

Thanks.

[johnkelley]

Three foot glass tube

[ryland_moore]

Megamid, by far!

[archenemy]

I'll tell you what I wish I'd had. A gun. We saw so many bears in the lower valley. Scary. But hey, have fun.

[pete_a]

I asked a similar question back when Ryland and I headed to Denali...check out the replies

 

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/136063/page/0/fpart/1

 

my favorite item besides the megamid was our pressure cooker, it let us cook spaghetti in about five minutes even at 14,000ft...saved us quite a bit of fuel.

[snowbound]

Pete,

 

Thanks for the link. It is just the info I was looking for. Guide books and guide lists are great, but the first hand accounts of what not to leave behind or skimp on are really valuable.

[slogon]

Just don't do like I did and leave your book in a cache lower down to save weight. Nothing like spending a week at 14K staring at the roof of the tent, reading candy bar wrappers, and stealing your tentmate's books whenever they were asleep/not looking! MP3 and/or AM/FM radio invaluable also.

[salbrecher]

Weed. Nothing like spending a week at 14K staring at the roof of the tent and not caring that your staring at the roof of your tent. Booties are pretty nice to.

[skeletor]

Question on the booties, all the down tent booties i've seen, like the TNF ones, don't seem to have much of a sole to them. Great if you're hanging around in a tent, but doesn't seem to be so safe walking around outside. Not much traction as far as I can tell from the photos...

http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/imanf/The+North+Face/idesc/NSE+Tent+Booties+-+Fall+2006/Store/MG/item/204394/N/0

 

Any specific models of booties you'd recommend?

[Mark_Husbands]

plugging them into an overboot is good, if you're carrying an overboot

[ivan]

Weed.

minimum of a 1/2 'z

and lotza, lotza candy bars, hot chocolate, fruit pieces and other munchables

a med kit stocked w/ morphine was also critical for the week sitting at an utterly abandoned basecamp while waiting for the weather to clear so i could get back to beer-land

come to think of that, stash at least 10 liters of wine in your basecamp cache - 2 liters? what the fuck were we thinking? that lasted about an hour....

[ivan]

Question on the booties, all the down tent booties i've seen, like the TNF ones, don't seem to have much of a sole to them. Great if you're hanging around in a tent, but doesn't seem to be so safe walking around outside. Not much traction as far as I can tell from the photos...

http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/imanf/The+North+Face/idesc/NSE+Tent+Booties+-+Fall+2006/Store/MG/item/204394/N/0

 

Any specific models of booties you'd recommend?

it don't matter - i had some ghetto booties - if it's really shitty out, you can step into your plastic shells w/ them on - just don't go for a piss down the rescue gully wearing them

[sean_beanntan]

Bring a Umberella.....seems silly but the sun can be opressive at 11,200 or 14,000. Yes I know you can hang a tarp from the snow walls but that can be difficult and the sun moves. A small Umberella is sweet sitting outside your tent. Also an insulated French press for those social gatherings at 14,000. You can bater almost anything for a hot cup of Joe at ABC

[snowbound]

Any experience with $80 BD Mercury Mitts vs the $160 OR Alti Mitts?

[ivan]

i used 30$ synthethic mitts from rei - perfect

[ToddG]

Sleeping bags? Looking at FF Ptarmigan and WM Puma SDL. Anyone have pros/cons on these two?

[wfinley]

$20 REI booties work as well as the $80 FF version - however $80 FF booties come in neon green.

[brian_m]

Sleeping bags? Looking at FF Ptarmigan and WM Puma SDL. Anyone have pros/cons on these two?

 

sorry todd... after looking at all the details and spending time in both bags... had to go with the Marmot Col EQ. The FF hood is very small and even when cinched, just doesn't cut it. I like to bury my eyes in my hood to block out the midnight sun in AK; Marmot has a super deep hood. The vertical midsection baffles are nice too.

[brian_m]

Roll up Solar Panel... talk about trades... people with battery eating digital cameras will trade just anything to borrow a few hours of charging time.

[Mark_Husbands]

mini whisk broom and dust (snow) pan

[wfinley]

I've seen folks haul bagpipes and saxophones up the West Buttress... I've also seen a party pull out a whole wheel of cheese. When you see all this you begin to understand why people take 3 weeks and have to double carry everything when they climb Denali.

 

[timy]

I bought a wm puma sdl for a future trip to Denali. It is very warm the hood is plentifull, the cut is snug. I weigh 160

I was comfortable on very cold nights at elevations of 8000-9000

ft in the winter. in fact I usually had to unzip the bag.

I was so impressed with the quality and warmth I bought a wm

ultralite 20 degree bag I've spent nights in 0 degrees and only

needed to add and extra shirt to keep warm however the foot box could be better insulated. but thats just my opinion.

[jhamaker]

Sleeping Bag + Overbag, else you'l be too hot half the time and never get to use the bag again.

 

Booties - w/ leg thing up to your knees (sew on) - one pair / tent

 

Light weight/color shirt and pants for lower Gl if there in June.

 

Skiis!

[wayne]

Reflective tarp to put over tent during the heat spells.

[DirtyHarry]

come to think of that, stash at least 10 liters of wine in your basecamp cache - 2 liters? what the fuck were we thinking? that lasted about an hour....

 

No shit. Don't underestimate how thirsty climbing a big mountain like Denali or Begoya can make you.