Clothing and equipment for Athabasca's North Face in Fall
This is the gear I took with me on a route up Athabasca's North Face. October 1, 2001. Temperatures on the route ranged from the high teens to mid twenties, farenheit.
Clothing:
Lightweight Lowe "Dryflo" underwear top
Marmot windshirt Worn directly over the dryflo top, underneath other layers
Patagonia R1 "Flash" regulator fleece pullover
Mountain Equipment Co-op "Pamir" powershield fabric jacket A nice softshell layer with a little more warmth than typical Schoeller fabrics. Nice double chest pockets for easy access to GU, camera, etc.
North Face "Cerro Torre" polarguard 3d jacket Low bulk, decent warmth. Not for super cold environments
Thermax boxer briefs
Patagonia R1 regulator fleece bottoms
Cloudwalker "Ama Dablam" schoeller fabric farmer john bibs Excellent alpine pants, good drop seat design (I added a little more velcro to the top to seal out drafts better.)
Homemade lightweight powerstretch headband
Capilene balaclava
Cloudveil schoeller fabric hat
HB Dyneema Helmet
Smartwool midweight ski socks
Scarpa "Alpha" plastic boots Very sensitive and light. Flexible uppers good for low angle climbng, excellent heel cup retention makes them good for front-pointing too. Mine fit a little tight and my toes got a bit bruised on the descent.
Mammut short gaiters. Velcro kept getting iced-up and tops wouldn't stay closed. Need to add a snap to top for security.
Granite Gear "Ice Sparring" gloves Excellent gloves. Warm, good dexterity, good knuckle protection
Dynastar spring ski gloves
OR powerstretch liner gloves
Notes on the clothing used: This system was about right for the temperatures encountered. A few degrees colder, and a heavier belay jacket might have been in order, particularly late in the day when energy levels were low, and temperatures dropped.
Personal Gear:
Osprey "Aether" pack This is the old-style super lightweight climbing pack, not the newer, heavier version.
Cebe sunglasses
Uvex "pocket" goggles These goggles really shined, venting well, and keeping the spindrift out of my eyes.
Camelback 3 liter bladder with drinking tube (contains Gatorade sports drink) The on/of valve freezes badly.
Black Diamond "Moonlight" Headlamp A great piece of gear. Bright, long-lasting batteries, light weight, perfect
Suunto Vector altimeter watch (worn around neck)
Small swiss army knife
Climbing Food (18 energy gels, 1 cliff bar, 1 large slim jim meat stick)
Nikon 28ti camera, film
Stripped down first aid kit
Toilet paper
Sunscreen
Personal Climbing Equipment:
Carbon Fiber Black Prophet ice tools (aermet picks) with extra pick and wrench The perfect alpine climbing tools. Their light weight makes them easy to swing all day long.
Cassin "Eolo" Harness Super light weight, Coordinates well with drop-seat pants, a good alpine ice choice
Black Diamond Tool Holsters
Charlet moser ice screw racks
"Jaws" belay device, locking belay biner
Black Diamond "Sabretooth" Crampons with antiballing plate Excellent all-around alpine ice crampons
locking carabiner
Small piece of a File
Group Climbing Equipment:
9 ice screws We brought extra for protected simulclimbing. Black Diamond express and Grivel 360 worked best.
Camalots sizes .5; 1; 2 Not needed on this route
Tricams sizes .5; 1 Not needed on this route
Frost nuts sizes 1; 2; 3; 4 Used one for constructing a belay above the rock band
3 titanium pitons Not needed on this route. Fixed pitons already in place
30 lightweight carabiners
Pair of 8.5 mm edilrid ropes, 50meter Should have brought a single, 60 meter 9.4mm rope.
4 screamers
5 slings
2 quickdraws