New Skis ... Sort Of

I got this pair of Trak Cortina cross country skis from a friend of mine this week (thanks bro!) . They are one of the original fish scale skis from the '70s. I'll be going up to Badger to test them out.

I'm starting to rough out the winter gear checklist. In the winter the environment is everything ...so protection from the short term and long term effects is the project. I've been reading books like Steve House's Beyond the Mountain and Beck Weather's book Left for Dead, which detail equipment carried into extreme alpine environments. The 7 lb pack that Steve house carried for his solo of K7 didn't have a lot of excesses; expediency and weight saving are the real lessons from that. Beck Weather's dramatic events on Everest weren't really the result of his gear.

When Reinhold Messner summited Everest solo , he abandoned his pack. He did insist on 2 pairs of sunglasses though. You probably won't get home if you're snow blind.

SO here's the first whack at my list:

Base Layer, Patagonia Capilene and or smartwool micro wool, 2 each; Sock Liners
Smartwool Wool Neck Gaiter
Hat, wool or Polartec, like the Mountain Hardware Dome Perignon or Windstopper.
Glasses, Sunglasses, Magnifiers
Compass (Silva Ranger)
GPS
Water Bottle
Map
Skis, Snowshoes, Boots, Gaiters, Wax (for the skis)
Smartwool Wool socks (2 Pair)
Gloves (current choice ... Black Mountain Glissade 0 degree)
Spare gloves
Wool pants and Wool Shirt.
Northface Polargard Jacket
Northface Summit Shell
Marmot Rain pant
Food -- gu packets, one meal ready to eat.
Water bottle
Duct Tape.
Mini First aid kit (see duct tape above)
Poles
Avalance Probe
Snow Shovel
Dermatone lip stuff.
Sunscreen
Garbage Bag
Hand Warmers
Extra hat

For the truck:
Sleeping Bag and Pad
Chains
Come-along
Tow Strap
Tent
MSR Whisperlite Stove, fuel and pot
Meal (dehydrated ... Chili Mac anyone?)
Extra Blanket

For Camp:
Tent
Stove, pot, and fuel
French Press coffee maker and coffee
Pad
Sleeping bag
Blanket
Spoon
Foot Soaking tub
Pillow

Backpack Checklist

CLOTHES

___ 2 pair extra socks smartwool hiking & Wigwam Gobi liners 7.0 oz.
___ North Face convertible pants 1 lb.
___ SmartWool Microweight Long-Sleeve Crew 6.3 oz.
___ Patagonia Capilene 3 bottoms 5.1 oz.
___ Alpaca Hat 1.90 oz.
___ Outdoor Research Wool Pullover 14.1 oz.
___ North Face Summit Rain Parka 1 lb. 12.2 oz
___ marmot precip rain/wind pants w/stuff sack 7.80

Subtotal for Clothes: 4 lbs 11 oz

SHELTER & SLEEPING SYSTEM

___ Sierra Designs Light Year Tent 3 lbs. 15 oz
___ North Face Snowshoe sleeping bag, 3 lbs. 10 oz.
___ Therm-a-rest Pro-Lite 4 Regular 4-season ultralite mattress 1 lb 9.5 oz

Subtotal for Shelter & Sleeping System: 9 lbs. 1.5 oz.

PACKING

___ Kelty RedCloud 5600 6 lbs. 0.5 oz.
___ equinox pack rain cover 3.67
___ stuff sacks, freezer bags, & garbage sacks 4.00

Subtotal for Packing: 6 lbs. 7.72 oz.

COOKING & WATER

___ Katadyn Hiker Microfilter with stuff sack 14.8 oz.
___ 2 Nalgene 1-liter water bottles 12.50 oz.
___ 1 Platypus 2-3 liter hydration bag/pouch.
___ coffee pot w/lid, cup, fork, and spoon 1 lb.
___ mesh “kitchen” bag (includes condiments, toothbrush & powder)
___ MSR Whisperlite Stove 15.4 oz.
___ matches 0.35 oz
___ cigarette lighter
___ bear bag 3.49

Subtotal for Cooking (without food & fuel): 3 lbs. 0.72 oz.

NAVIGATION

___ monocular 2.1 oz
___ Silva Ranger compass 1 oz
___ maps (2 @ .2 oz per map) 0.5 oz
___ Waterproof notebook, pencil, reading specs 0.5 oz
___ Aurora Princeton led headlamp w/ 6 AAA batteries 4.2 oz.
___ (1)Streamlight Scorpion Stinger Flashlight 3.3 oz

Subtotal for Navigation: 11.60

ESSENTIALS & OTHER ITEMS

___ first aid kit 6.0
___ (*) waterproof matches
___ (*) firestarter ~
___ Gerber Folding Saw
___ (*) duct tape ~
___ (*) fox plastic whistle ~
___ all (*) items in small freezer bag 3.30
___ signal mirror
___ bug guard/sun block 3.00
___ sting-eze bug-bite/bee-sting relief 0.78
___ Dermatone Lip Balm with Lanyard 0.35
___ tent repair kit 0.5
___ expedition sewing kit 0.74
___ pack towel 1.52
___ toilet paper 1.50
___ candle

Subtotal for Essentials & Other: 17.69

PACK WEIGHT NOT INCLUDING FOOD, WATER & FUEL: 22 lbs. 6.63 oz

___ Fuel for 3 days (includes extra): 13.20 oz
___ Food for 3 days (23 oz per day x 3 "full" days): 4 lbs. 5oz.
___ 2L Water 4 lbs. 4 oz.

Total weight: 9 lbs. 7.83 oz.


TOTAL PACK WEIGHT: 31 lbs 7.25 oz

CAMERA

Canon 20d with 17-85 lens 3 lbs. 4 oz.

THE GEAR I WOULD BE WEARING

___ Gerber Freeman folding knife 7.8 oz.
___ Nordstrom Off white cotton oxford shirt 11 oz.
___ North Face Polargaurd vest 1 lb.
___ GPS with neck lanyard
___ REI Men's Sahara convertible pants 1 lb 3.4 oz
___ smartwool hiking socks & Wigwam Gobi liners 3.5 oz
___ Merrill Wilderness Boots 3 lbs. 10 oz.
___ Manfrotto 679B Monopod, to double as a hiking pole. 1 lb 4 oz.
___ Smith Factor Sunglasses 4 oz.

Wearing weight 148.97 oz or 9 lbs. 4.97 oz.

GEAR TOTALS

Pack 31 lbs 7.25 oz.
Camera 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Body 9 lbs. 4.97 oz.

Total Burden 44 lbs 0.22 oz.