“I don’t know about this…” I said when a climbing partner was extolling the virtues of the Ghost Harness. “What about the weight of cams and ice screws? And hanging belays? I like to be comfortable, and when has ultralight alpine gear prioritized comfort?” 

How wrong I was (again). This is the perfect harness for everything alpine-related. From a full rack of screws or a double rack of cams, long roped-up glacier approaches, mixed climbing, skimo-ing, and everything in between, this is the harness I reach for time and time again. If you want something that sits well, feels light as a feather, doesn’t absorb water and performs, you need the Ghost. 

Weight: At only 250 grams for a size Medium, with 4 gear loops and two ice screw clipper loops, this has all the basics you need for tackling what the mountains throw at you. Plus it packs down to the size of an orange and your partners will look on in envy when everything fits in your pack with room to spare for an extra chocolate bar. 

Comfort: This concern instantly vanished when I took this harness up with me on a car2car ascent of the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. I was impressed with the back support after a couple improvised belays at awkward stances. Even with a full rack, a bunch of slings, a puffy, a water bottle, crack gloves, approach shoes and a bunch of other jingles and jangles hanging off me so that I looked like a very colorful Christmas tree, this harness held the weight and didn’t sag at all. 

In the North Cascades, we often have very long approaches over glaciated terrain (read: giant crevassed holes you have to navigate) to get to the base of our climbs. You want a harness that is low profile, doesn’t rub where your backpack rests against your hips and gives you the freedom of movement to stroll for miles and miles of snowfields. The lightweight (yet very sturdy) material and strategically designed back gear loops, ensure that this harness is compatible with a heavy pack and won’t cause rubbing. 

Fit: This harness fits small. I have what I call ‘approach legs’ and sized up to a Medium to ensure that even with 2 pairs of pants (for the cold ice climbing days), I have freedom of movement. The harness fits multiple top layers with no issues and has your typical double-backed waist closure system for safety. The leg loops self-adjust and are made partially of dyneema, so you don’t need to worry about tightening and loosening them when transitioning from approaching to climbing. 

Multifunctional: What I love about a piece of gear like the Ghost, is that it crosses disciplines. I use it for ice climbing because it holds my Carryabiner ice clippers in an upright position. It climbs alpine rock exceptionally well with the high freedom of movement and how light it is. I’ve taken it trad cragging and on longer mulitpitch trad days with a heavier rack. 

I’ve used this harness for long sport days where I’m getting mileage in on rock, and didn’t once think about it my harness, which in my book means the gear is doing its job and not taking up my mental bandwidth.

I wouldn’t recommend this harness for big walling or countless sport climbing burns on your project where you’re taking whip after whip and hangdogging for hours on end, but for everything else, look no further.

The bottom line is that this harness is minimalist, comfortable, light and has everything you need without the weight or extra frills. I recommend it to all of my partners as a multi-functional alpine climbing harness that enables you to go light and fast without sacrificing safety.