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IMG Everest South Side Climb Gear List
This equipment list is meant to help you compile your personal gear for a high altitude trekking trip. Most items are required. Please consider each item carefully and be sure you understand the function of each piece of equipment before you substitute or delete items from your duffle. Keep in mind that this list has been carefully compiled by Eric Simonson, the expedition organizer. Don't cut corners on the quality of your gear.
| Travel Items | |
| [ ] | Duffel Bags: One duffle will accompany you on the trek to BC. Climbers will need a second duffel, which will be packed with the mountain equipment and which will go directly to BC. Duffels are carried by porters and yaks and should be sturdy and waterproof with name written on bag (in case tag is lost). Bags with wheels are nice for the airport, but the porters and yaks don't like to carry them, so don't bring wheeled bags. You will also store some travel clothes at the hotel in Kathmandu while trekking, so a smaller additional bag with a lock might be handy. Tip: Bring 5 large plastic garbage bags to pack gear inside duffels to protect gear from rain. |
| [ ] | Daypack: Large daypack or bag with a shoulder strap, so you don't have to set it down while doing the duffle shuffle or handling travel documents while going through passport control and customs at the airport. It needs to be big enough to hold everything you'll need for an overnight stop. |
| [ ] | Locks: You'll want padlocks in Nepal and Tibet, but for flying out of the USA, it might be better to use plastic zip ties which can be cut by TSA staff if necessary (bring extra zip ties). |
| [ ] | Travel Wallet: A secure travel wallet is a must for carrying your important documents including passport, extra photos, duffel inventory list, and money. We suggest that you use a travel wallet that you can hang around your neck and place inside your shirt, or around your waist tucked under your shirt or trousers. |
| [ ] | Passport (valid for at least 6 months after the trip ends with sufficient extra pages for visa stamps and in same name as airline ticket (or with endorsement-for women who changed name w/ marriage). It is easy to get your Nepal visa on arrival in Kathmandu at the airport... bring a passport photo.
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| Trekking Gear | |
| [ ] | Trekking Poles: Poles come in handy for balance and easing impact to your knees. Get collapsible poles that can attach to your backpack. |
| [ ] | Backpack: Medium size backpack. This must get packed into one of the duffle bags for the flights. You need a pack big enough for your clothes, water, camera, food, etc during the day. We have used Low Alpine packs for years and like them. |
| [ ] | Pack Cover: Waterproof rain cover for your pack. |
| [ ] | Sleeping Bag: Rated to at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Synthetic or Down. Base Camp can get down to around 0-10 degrees F at night... so quite chilly. |
| [ ] | Sleeping Pad or Thermarest (one light one is sufficient, you will be provided a thick open cell foam "trekking mattress". |
| [ ] | Tip: Bring 5 large plastic garbage bags to pack gear inside duffels to protect gear from rain.
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| Footwear | |
| [ ] | Lightweight Shoes: Running/tennis shoes and sandals for camp, around town, etc. |
| [ ] | Hiking Boots: Medium-weight hiking boots, waterproofed and broken-in. We like Asolo. |
| [ ] | Gaiters: To keep snow, mud, and scree out of your hiking boots. We like Outdoor Research. |
| [ ] | Socks: 3 complete changes of socks, in a combination that you have used and know works for you. Make sure your boots are roomy enough for the sock combination you intend to use. Tight boots will make your feet cold.
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| Clothing | |
| [ ] | Base Layer: 2 pair synthetic long johns: one midweight set and one expedition weight set. |
| [ ] | Mid Layers: One additional warm layer (wool sweater, another fleece jacket, shelled vest, etc, that can be worn in conjunction to the other layers). |
| [ ] | Shell Jacket: Waterproof/breathable jacket with hood. Outdoor Research makes some nice Gore-tex outerwear jackets and pants. |
| [ ] | Shell Pants: Waterproof/breathable pants (full side zips are best). |
| [ ] | Climbing/Trekking Pants: Look for construction that provides freedom of movement and/or stretch materials. Fabric should be a breathable synthetic that preferably holds up to abrasion and dries quickly. You can wear them over longjohns if it is cold. |
| [ ] | Parka: REQUIRED. Down or synthetic. This should be big enough to go over other garments. Many climbers also like insulated pants for cold mornings and evenings at BC / ABC. |
| [ ] | Trekking Clothes: Light hiking pants and / or hiking shorts for warm weather down low — NOT cotton. Shirts for hiking on nice days (t-shirts OK, quick-drying synthetic fabric far better.) |
| [ ] | Casual Clothes: For travel/meals in dining rooms. You'll want a shirt or two with a collar to wear on flights and for restaurants. A sweatshirt or light jacket might be nice in the evening. |
| [ ] | Bathing Suit: Some of the hotels have pools (eg, in Bangkok).
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| Clothing Accessories | |
| [ ] | Gloves: Light gloves for hiking and warm ski gloves. Bring mittens too if your hands tend to get cold. We like Outdoor Research. |
| [ ] | Hats: Warm wool or heavy fleece hat, sun hat and bandana. We like Outdoor Research.
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| Camp Accessories | |
| [ ] | Headlamp: With several sets of extra batteries. Climbers should bring a back up headlamp. |
| [ ] | Water Bottles: 2 water bottles with foam insulation shells. |
| [ ] | Water Treatment: Iodine tablets (Potable Aqua or similar) or iodine crystals (Polar Pure). |
| [ ] | Camera: With spare batteries and large capacity memory card. Consider a small USB drive for sharing photos with your teammates (8-16gigs). |
| [ ] | Pocket Knife.
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| Personal Accessories | |
| [ ] | Wrist Watch: With alarm and light for reading in the dark. We like the Suunto ones. |
| [ ] | Eyewear: Bring good sunglasses. For contact lens wearers, ski goggles with light color lenses (for use at night) might be useful in windy conditions that cause blowing dust. |
| [ ] | Vision correction: Bring extra prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses if you wear them. Lens solutions are not widely available in Nepal, bring enough. |
| [ ] | Skin Care: Maximum SPF sunscreen and lip balm. |
| [ ] | Basic First Aid and personal: Hand sanitizer (Purell), moleskin, tape, aspirin (some climbers take a baby aspirin every day up high) and/or ibuprofen / acetaminophen, Imodium and Pepto Bismol for diarrhea, Band-Aids, antacid, insect repellant, ear plugs, and several rolls of toilet paper (we will have a supply at Base Camp), small towel, soap/shampoo, a few disposable dust masks. |
| [ ] | Prescription Medications:
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| [ ] | Cold medicine (Sudafed, etc), Chloroseptic or Tessalon Perles throat lozenges. |
| [ ] | Personal Snack Food: Approximately 5 pounds of personal snacks, also some drink mixes if you like these (add drink mix to your water bottle after giving iodine tablets 30 minutes of contact time). Summit climbers should bring some extra high altitude snacks they know they will like to eat up high! |
| [ ] | Pee Bottle |
| [ ] | Chemical Hand Warmers (6) |
| [ ] | MP3 Player, Kindle or Books. Plan on sharing books among team members. You can also borrow from and add to the Base Camp Library we establish every year.
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| Nepal Lobuche Peak and Khumbu Icefall Climbers add the following | |
| [ ] | Ice axe: We like a general purpose axe in the 60-70 cm range, depending upon your height and the type of climbing you anticipate. A wrist leash is useful for wearing while crossing snow bridges or on steep slopes where losing an axe would be a big problem. A spike with a point is preferable to a tubular shape (which can glance off the ice at certain angles). |
| [ ] | Crampons: The number one rule with crampons is that they need to stay on your boots no matter what. Make sure your boots are compatible with your crampons. Avoid "cookie cutter" crampons with a vertical side rail. They tend to ball up in soft snow. Mono points, heel hooks, and various technical ice paraphernalia may be great for an icicle, but are unnecessary for mountaineering. |
| [ ] | Helmet |
| [ ] | Climbing Harness: We prefer a harness with a minimum of padding that can be adjusted to fit over bulky clothing with leg loops that open so you don't have to step into the harness. |
| [ ] | Ascender & Hardware: Two large locking carabiners, mechanical ascender with slings, rappel device (Figure 8 or ATC that will work on a variety of rope diameters from 6mm to half inch braided rope), 4 extra shoulder slings with 'biners. Bring 30 feet of 7mm accessory cord or ½ inch tape webbing to rig your ascender and safety sling (we will show you a good way to do this). |
| [ ] | Warm shelled mittens |
| [ ] | Plastic double boots (recommended) or equivalent. |
| [ ] | 1 pair of Glacier glasses, with a spare pair as backup. |
| [ ] | A "Buff" or light balaclava to breath through in the cold dry air |
| [ ] | Small repair kit. We'll have a large repair kit at Base Camp with tools, etc. |
| [ ] | Holster or other manner for stowing ice axe (between shoulders under pack?) while climbing ladders in Icefall. Must be out of the way and easy to reach with one hand.
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| Summit Climbers Additional Equipment | |
| [ ] | We would like to discuss this in detail with you individually. It will be necessary to have a down suit (or down trousers and parka) and many climbers prefer the Millet Everest or the La Sportiva Olympus Mons boots. Additionally, we suggest extra socks, warm mittens, goggles (including light yellow or clear lens for night if it is cold), a good 1 liter thermos bottle, and other accessories. Climbers may want a second sleeping bag, if they want their own bag in higher camps (we will supply shared bags for up high). We also suggest summit climbers bring a back-up headlamp and an extra 6 AA Lithium Batteries (for headlamp and walkie talkie back up up high). |
Not only did IMG seem to have the best guiding, but we were by far the best provisioned. I wouldn't climb with anybody else and will do my best to steer folks your way.
See Jeff's video from the summit »
