My Gear for Alpine C2C Missions

A lot of alpine climbs in the North Cascades require a long approach, snow and glacier travel, followed by simuling/soloing long stretches of easy rock, some technical rock climbing to get to the summit of the objective, and then a long descent down. A typical day can be in the 10-20 mile and 4000’ - 9000’ of vertical elevation gain. That means you need a lot of gear. Rock gear, glacier travel gear, ice gear… it starts adding up, and honestly, I’d rather bring an extra chocolate bar (or a jar of olives) than heavy or unnecessary gear.

The reason we do those long approaches and bushwhacks

I tend to climb a lot car2car instead of camping for several days, which means I need my kit dialed to increase my chances of success. I interchange some pieces here or there and adjust given the objective, but overall this is what I pack. Lots of alternatives out there. This is by no means the only combination of gear one can use, but it is the one I use and many of you have asked me to do an extensive gear list, so here you go!

Note: Food/clothing are omitted from the below. I’ll do ‘what I wear for’ & ‘what I eat for’ posts a bit later. And remember that just because someone on the internet used certain gear (or lack thereof) does not necessarily mean it’s the right gear for you.

GEAR BREAKDOWN

Note to US-based readers: Grivel doesn’t ship directly to the US (they’re based in Italy). Products can be found at your local gear shop & some popular items at REI.

Grivel is family-owned (not like most outdoor companies in this space that are part of giant conglomerates you don’t know the names of), all their gear is sustainably sourced/produced using solar energy, and they really, really care about making great gear for alpinism. This sums up how I feel.

A) Trail Three Poles: My favorite, lightweight and easily-stowable poles. I love these so much I even wrote up a gear review about them

B) Radical Light 21 Pack: Lightweight with full functionality and easy to stow an ice axe and everything I need. Easily packs all of my gear and any extras.

Alternate: If I’m bringing mountaineering boots and more clothing or am carrying more gear, I’ll bring the Arc’teryx Alpha AR 35 pack.

C) Stealth Helmet: Light and functional

D) Mistral Harness: Super lightweight and great for glacier travel and moving fast where you’re simul-climbing most of the climbs 

Alternate: If a climb has more technical climbing and I need to clip more gear/want more comfy belays and have a lot of rappels, I bring the Beal Ghost Harness.

E) Chalk Bag: Everything you need in a chalk bag. Has a zipper pocket where I often stow a hand warmer if it gets super cold

F) Beal Rope Tech Gloves: I like these because they breathe and I can use them both for rappelling/rope-handling as well as for warmth on the approach and bushwhacking.

G) Ghost Evo Ice Axe w/ Trigger: Super lightweight and functional. Swings well with the trigger and is all you need for lower angle ice up to WI3 on approaches.

H) Air Tech Light Crampons: So light your feet feel like there’s barely anything on them! Very secure. I love these.

I) Plume K3W carabiners w/ Alpine Ring slings: Beautiful colors in gold/black and functional

J) Plume Nut K3N locking carabiners & Masterpro belay device : My absolute favorite carabiners of all time. So incredibly light yet strong. I always carry a couple extras of these. 

K) Beal Gully 70m Rope 7.3mm:  It’s light and for simuling I double it over and lead on 30m.

Alternate: If there’s more technical climbing, I bring the Beal Opera 8.5mm 60m.

L) Totems & Camalots: I absolutely adore totems and supplement with regular cams and nuts where I don’t have the size.

M) TruWild Hydrate Amino Acids & Electrolytes : I’ve been searching for a hydration supplement that has both BCAA’s and electrolytes (usually it’s only one or the other which is frustrating). I found the combo in this mix!

Katadyn Befree Water Filtration System 1.0L: Love this water bottle. It’s light, compresses down and it filters everything bad out of the water with its integrated filter. So you can just fill up and drink. No need for chemicals or pumping.

N) Unparallel Up Rise Zero LV Climbing shoes: They’re hot pink and I can wear them all day long

O) Silva Headlamp: Bright, reliable and gets me down when I really want to be done and back at the car.

P) Miscellaneous: Garmin Inreach Mini, sunglasses, sunscreen, tape, pain meds

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

The Radical Light 21 pack fits everything (and then some). It’s comfortable on the shoulders even though it packs down into nothing. It climbs well, has lots of strategic pockets, an ice axe attachment system and generally is very well designed with an alpine/ice climber’s needs in mind. 

Like I mentioned above, I bring the Arc’teryx Alpha AR pack in a small frame size for days with a double rack, two ropes and mountaineering boots.

How about you guys? What gear do you swap in or out? I’m always tuning and adjusting, so let me know!