IMG Autumn Nepal Trek Gear List

This equipment list is meant to help you compile your personal gear for a high-altitude trek or climb. 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. Don't cut corners on the quality of your gear.

Travel Items
[  ]	Duffel Bags: One duffle will accompany you on the trek to BC. Lobuche Climbers will need a second duffel, which will be packed with the mountain equipment and will go direct to Lobuche Base Camp. 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: Important 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). Get your Nepal visa on arrival in Kathmandu at the airport.
[  ]	Additional passport photos: at least two: one for Nepal visa, and one extra to keep on hand.
[  ]	Optional: cellphone with international roaming capability. Better yet, for cheapest calls, a phone with the capability of using a Nepal GSM sim card that you can purchase in Kathmandu. (You will need an additional passport photo as well as a color copy of your passport.)
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.
[  ]	Backpacks: The "day pack" is great for a travel carry-on and may be big enough for the trek (need room for your clothes, water, camera, food, etc. during the day while hiking). We suggest 40-50L. Climbers will need a larger pack (50-60 liter size is popular) and this will also be fine for the trek. For the international flights put your backpack in your duffle bags, but carry it on the plane for the Lukla flight.
[  ]	Pack Cover: Waterproof rain cover for your pack.
[  ]	Sleeping Bag: Rated to at least 0 to -10°Fahrenheit. Synthetic or Down.
Teahouse/Camp Accessories
[  ]	Headlamp: With several sets of extra batteries. Climbers should bring a second back-up headlamp.
[  ]	Water Bottles: 2 wide mouth 32oz Nalgene water bottles. Lobuche climbers add foam insulation shells.
[  ]	Water Treatment: Iodine tablets (Potable Aqua or similar) or iodine crystals (Polar Pure) or a Steripen with extra batteries.
[  ]	Pocket Knife.
[  ]	Pee bottle
Footwear
[  ]	Lightweight Shoes: Running/tennis shoes and sandals for camp, around town, etc.
[  ]	Hiking Boots: Medium-weight hiking boots, waterproofed and broken-in.
[  ]	Gaiters: To keep snow, mud, and scree out of your hiking boots.
[  ]	Socks: At least 3 complete changes of socks, in a combination that you have used and know works for you. Boots must be big enough for the sock combination; tight boots will make your feet cold.
[  ]	Yaktrax Crampons or Kahtoola Microspikes in case of snow for the passes and glacier crossings.
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.
[  ]	Shell Pants: Waterproof/breathable pants (full side zips are best).
[  ]	Climbing/Trekking Softshell 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 long johns if it is cold.
[  ]	Warm Parka: Down or synthetic. This should be big enough to go over other garments.
[  ]	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 are 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.
Clothing Accessories
[  ]	Gloves: Light gloves for hiking Expedition Weight Gloves Bring mittens if your hands tend to get cold
[  ]	Hats: Warm wool or heavy fleece hat Sun hat and bandana or buff
[  ]	A "Buff" or light balaclava to breathe through in the cold dry air. Good for preventing "Khumbu cough"
Personal Accessories
[  ]	Wrist Watch: With alarm and light for reading in the dark. We like the Suunto ones.
[  ]	Eyewear: Bring good, dark, polarized 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: Bring plenty of hand sanitizer (Purell). Also, you'll want moleskin, tape, aspirin (many climbers take an 81mg aspirin every day to prevent stroke), ibuprofen / acetaminophen, Imodium and Pepto Bismol for diarrhea, Band-Aids, antacid, insect repellant, ear plugs, and several rolls of toilet paper, small towel, soap/shampoo, a few disposable dust masks, hand cream (for chapped hands)
[  ]	Prescription Medications: Two regimens of antibiotic for respiratory and GI problems (azithromycin "Z-Pak") Diamox (acetazolamide) for acclimatization (125 mg tabs recommended; enough for a week) A few sleeping pills for the first few days of jet lag Malaria Chemophrophylaxis (not needed unless you go to low areas in Nepal or Thailand, in which case we suggest Malarone) Asthma medication, if any history (for example an Advair inhaler — many people find this VERY useful for "Khumbu Cough" bronchitis/irritation which can ruin your expedition and prevent you from climbing.) Nifedipine (for Pulmonary Edema; the 30 mg time-release x 2 tablets) Dexamethasome (for Cerebral Edema; 4 mg x 10 tablets).
[  ]	Cold medicine (Sudafed, etc.), Chloroseptic or Tessalon Perles throat lozenges.
[  ]	Personal Snack Food: Lunches are included but you might like to bring a modest amount 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).
[  ]	Entertainment: iPod, Kindle, music, lightweight book(s).
[  ]	Camera: With spare batteries, and memory cards.
[  ]	Chemical hand warmers (6)
Lobuche Peak Climbers Add
[  ]	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. It's also nice to have a harness with leg loops that open so you don't have to step into the harness.
[  ]	Ascenders and Hardware: 2 large locking carabiners) 1 mechanical ascender) 1 rappel device (figure 8 or similar that will work on a variety of rope diameters from 6mm to half inch braided rope)) 3 extra shoulder slings with non-locking carabiners) 30 feet of 7mm accessory cord 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.
[  ]	Small repair kit
[  ]	Thermarest mattress for High Camp