Trekking Poles: Poles come in handy for
balance and easing impact to your knees. Get collapsible
poles that can attach to your backpack and fit into your
duffel.
Backpack: You may choose to bring a
smaller "daypack" for your airline travel carry on, and
this can be used on the trek if you want to carry a
smaller (35 liter or so), light trekking pack. You need
a pack big enough for your clothes, water, camera, food,
etc during the day.
Pack Cover: Waterproof rain cover for
your trekking pack.
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 is better.) Don't overdo
your trekking clothes. A pair of shorts, long pants and
a couple of shirts will do. Some pair of Socks,
Underpants/panties/Bra, Belt, Skirt, one set Sport
sandals and Trousers, you can hand wash them during the
trek as needed.
Lightweight Approach Boots: Find a pair
that fits and log some miles in them before your trip. A
low cut shoe is adequate, but some hikers will prefer
more ankle support.
Sleeping Bag: Bring a sleeping bag
comfortable to -20 for trekking however it is better to
bring -30 for climbing. During the trekking in
hotel/guest house -20 is fine but on the tented home you
need -30. Down is lighter and much more compressible.
Keep in mind that many of your nights will be much
warmer than -20, especially on the trek in to base camp.
Expedition Footwear
Double Climbing Boots with expedition
liners. Make sure your crampons can be adjusted to fit
them (La sportiva - Olympus Mons Cube).
Approach boots: Which will work on the
trek and approach to Camp 1, and even up to Camp 2 if
conditions warrant.
Gaiters and Yaktrax or Kahtoola Micro
spikes in case of snow.
Socks: Four/five sets of climbing
socks.
Personal Accessories
Eyewear: Bring good sunglasses with
side protection. For contact lens wearers, ski goggles
with light color lenses (for use at night) might be
useful in windy conditions. The ski goggles are
essential for all climbers in really stormy conditions
and can serve as an emergency backup for broken or lost
sunglasses.
Vision correction: Bring extra
prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses if you wear
them. Lens solutions are not widely available in Nepal,
bring enough for the duration.
Wrist Watch: With alarm and night
light. An altimeter watch is useful.
First Aid: Hand sanitizer (Purell),
moleskin or Compede, athletic tape, aspirin (some
climbers take a baby aspirin every day up high) and/or
ibuprofen / acetaminophen, Imodium, Band-Aids, antacid,
insect repellant, ear plugs, and two rolls of toilet
paper in quart Ziploc bags (we will have a supply at
Base Camp), small towel, soap/shampoo.
Prescription Medications: Antibiotic
for upper respiratory problems, Antibiotic for GI
problems, Diamox for acclimatization (125 mg tabs
recommended; enough for a week or more), Tylenol 3 or
similar for severe headaches, Asthma medication, if any
history.
Skin Care: Sun block lotion (at least
#30 protection factor -- have at least one smaller tube
(1 oz) that can fit in your pocket) and lip salve. Put
your lip protection on a string and hang it from your
neck. That way you'll use it. It also works great for
your nose.
Garbage Bags: 2 or 3 large plastic bags
make great liners for your pack in wet weather.
Personal Snack Food: The food is great
on the trek but you might enjoy a few snacks (not more
than 5 pounds) from home and also some drink mixes if
you like these to add to your water bottle (let the
iodine have 30 minutes contact time before adding).
Summit climbers should bring some high altitude snacks
they prefer for hard days.
MP3 Player and Books: As you want to
read on the way to trekking. Plan on sharing books on
hotel/guest house and on sharing books with the Base
Camp.
Pee Bottle.
Chemical Hand Warmers.
Expedition Gear
Ice Axe/Ice Hammer: Bring a light
weight axe with a pick that will stick easily in hard
glacier ice. Attach a light weight wrist leash that is
usable for climbing steeper terrain.
Crampons: These must be sharp and must
fit your boot perfectly.
Harness: Make sure the buckle is easy
for you to thread in cold conditions! Gear loops will be
useful for this trip as well as adjustable leg loops.
Helmet: Be sure you can comfortably fit
a warm hat underneath.
Insulated Parka/Expedition Suit:
Heavyweight insulated expedition Suit/parka with hood.
Jacket: Lightweight
waterproof-breathable construction with a hood.
Pants: Lightweight
waterproof-breathable shell pants or bibs with
full-length leg zippers. ALSO very useful are synthetic
insulation full-zip pants, for example, Mountain Hardwar
Compressor Pants--for evenings and cold summit days.
Mid Layers: Fleece or Soft Shell
layering pieces that work well with the rest of your
clothing. A Soft Shell jacket and an expedition weight
long john top will work well.
Climbing 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.
Base Layers: - 2 synthetic tops and 1
bottom. Zip neck tops are the way to go.
Mittens: Fleece mittens with an over
mitten. Nothing competes with a mitten for warmth when
the going got tough.
Ski Gloves: A warm insulated glove with
leather palm will be worn a lot of the time.
Light Gloves: Polypropylene or fleece.
Leather palms handle the fixed line better.
Leather gloves or good abrasion
resistant climbing glove for the rock sections.
Stocking Hat: Wool or fleece stocking
hat with ear protection.
Neck Gaiter and/or a Buff (highly
recommended).
Baseball hat and Bandana.
Other Accessories
Headlamp: Bring a good LED headlamp
with 2 sets of lithium batteries for cold conditions.
Water Bottles: 2 wide mouth plastic
water bottles with insulated covers. A small Thermos
bottle is great for cold mornings. Bring a pee bottle
too.
Water purification: Iodine tablets
(Potable Aqua or similar) or iodine crystals (Polar
Pure). One bottle of Potable Aqua (enough to treat 25
liters) should be more than sufficient.
Utensils: Bring an insulated mug with a
lid, a decent sized bowl, spoon, pocket knife and
lighter.
Backpack: Climbing Backpack: Medium
size internal frame pack (60 liter capacity). Look for a
pack which is comfortable to carry, very durable, as
light as is reasonable and one which has a minimum
number of bells and whistles.
Sleeping Bag: Bring a sleeping bag
comfortable to -35 for expedition. Down is lighter and
much more compressible. Be sure to bring a compression
stuff sack. Keep in mind that many of your nights will
be much warmer than -20, especially on the trek in to
base camp.
Travel Items
Duffel Bags: We normally pack all our
equipment in two large duffel bags. Make sure they are
well labeled with indelible ink as well as a travel tag.
The duffels go on the trek/climb with you and will be
carried by porters and yaks. Expect for them to get wet
and muddy, so rugged, waterproof duffels are good. 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 (or at least not two of them). You will
also store some travel clothes at the hotel in Kathmandu
while trekking, so a small additional bag with a lock
might be handy. Bring 5 large plastic garbage bags to
pack gear inside duffels to protect gear from rain.
Daypack: A smaller rucksack makes a
great carry-on bag for your flight and is useful during
the trek.
Travel Wallet: Some type of secure
travel wallet is a must. Remember a pen for travel
documents.
Passport (valid for at least 6 months),
It is easy to get your Nepal visa on arrival in
Kathmandu at the airport bring a passport photo. Bring a
copy of the information pages and a couple of extra
passport photographs. Carry these in a separate
location. You'll be glad you did if you ever lose a
passport.
Camera: with spare batteries, and film
or memory cards, but keep it reasonable in size and
weight. Consider a small USB drive to make it easy to
share photos with your teammates.
Bathing Suit: Towel, Toothpaste and
brush, floss, mini hair brush, razor, soap, mini bottle
of shampoo, travel mirror, nail clippers, Pie bottle
etc.
