This post synthesizes the best available gear for a 2018 mountaineering expedition on Denali or almost any other cold mountain on the planet. I draw from my experience as a gear reviewer for outdoorgearlab.com and backpackinglight.com, interviews with pro climbers and gear designers at top brands, and my personal experience climbing in Alaska. Photos are from a 2014 ascent of Denali's Cassin Ridge, when my partner and I were the only Americans to climb a technical route on the mountain that year.
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| Pulling sleds on the Kahiltna glacier with Denali in the distance. |
Clothing
Baselayer: Patagonia Merino Air top and bottoms or, for a better value, their Capilene Thermal Hoody and bottoms
Insulation: Patagonia Nano Air Light top and bottoms. Colin Haley used these on his Infinite Spur solo and the top is the best hug-exertion active insulation jacket on the market. The Arcteryx Proton LT Hoody is arguably the best choice as a second mid-layer (wear it on top of the Nano Air Light) because it's warmer and not as breathable.
Shell Pants: You could go one of two ways here: fast and light with a windshell pant or slow and steady with a durable hardshell pant. For fast and light, look no further than the Patagonia Houdini. (Not the Alpine Houdini.) Here's what Colin Haley says about this pant:
"Just like with my Houdini jacket, these are more breathable and much lighterweight than a waterproof shell, and in consistently below-freezing temperatures I don’t feel the need for a waterproof shell. I consider both the Houdini jacket and the Houdini pants to be the most useful and versatile items of clothing that I own. On this pair of Houdini pants I had a seamstress add a simple, zippered fly, to make it easier to pee if wearing them with a harness."
If you want to go the hardshell route, save up for the Arcteryx Alpha SV Bib These are the best winter climbing and skiing pants I've ever used. I LOVE them, especially the durability, the ventilation, and the chest pockets. You don't need waterproof pants or something this durable for climbing Denali, but these will last for years of hard use.
If you are climbing a technical route and want a waterporoof pant, consider the Patagonia Galvanized Pant, which is significantly lighter than the Alpha SV Bib. I consider this to be a specialty pant for hard technical climbing in wet conditions. It will not be durable. Though I've tried this pant one several times, I have not found to be worth buying because my Houdini, Nano Air Light, and Alpha SV bottoms can do everything.
"Just like with my Houdini jacket, these are more breathable and much lighterweight than a waterproof shell, and in consistently below-freezing temperatures I don’t feel the need for a waterproof shell. I consider both the Houdini jacket and the Houdini pants to be the most useful and versatile items of clothing that I own. On this pair of Houdini pants I had a seamstress add a simple, zippered fly, to make it easier to pee if wearing them with a harness."
If you want to go the hardshell route, save up for the Arcteryx Alpha SV Bib These are the best winter climbing and skiing pants I've ever used. I LOVE them, especially the durability, the ventilation, and the chest pockets. You don't need waterproof pants or something this durable for climbing Denali, but these will last for years of hard use.
If you are climbing a technical route and want a waterporoof pant, consider the Patagonia Galvanized Pant, which is significantly lighter than the Alpha SV Bib. I consider this to be a specialty pant for hard technical climbing in wet conditions. It will not be durable. Though I've tried this pant one several times, I have not found to be worth buying because my Houdini, Nano Air Light, and Alpha SV bottoms can do everything.
Shell Jacket: A lot of winter climbers don't bother with a waterproof jacket because there's no liquid precipitation. I recommend The Arcteryx Squamish Hoody windshell, which has an excellent adjustable hood, adjustable cuffs, and an external chest pocket. But any windshell will work as long as its large enough to fit over your midlayers. If you want to go the waterproof jacket route, the best option is the Patagonia M10 Anorak. For decade-long durability opt instead for the Arcteryx Alpha FL.
Insulated Pants: I use the Western Mountaineering Flight.
Down Parka: Patagonia’s Patagonia Grade VII is the best in the world. It has a remarkable warmth to weight ratio of 390 cubic inches of down per ounce. Critically, this parka achieves its low weight not by using fragile fabrics, but through efficient design. The Grade VII uses two high strength fabrics: the Houdini on the front and arms for very high tear strength and a more supple fabric in other areas for compressibility. This parka is a work of art. It could be the single most sophisticated piece of outdoor gear on the market. The designer told me it would take him a month to sew it!
If you don't have $900 for the best parka in the world, there are two lower-priced options to consider:
1. Feathered Friends Hooded Helios (18 oz, $339) This is the best value for people with short torsos. However, there's no interior stash pocket, no waist drawcord, and it will be just barely warm enough. I'm mentioning it because it could be a good value option for short-torso people.
2. Patagonia Fitz Roy Parka (21 oz, $449) This is the best all-purpose parka on the market, Patagonia revised it for Fall 2017, incorporating many of the design elements from the Encapsil and Grade VII parkas. Expedition fit, two interior stash pockets, a burly #8 zipper. Highly recommended.
If you don't have $900 for the best parka in the world, there are two lower-priced options to consider:
1. Feathered Friends Hooded Helios (18 oz, $339) This is the best value for people with short torsos. However, there's no interior stash pocket, no waist drawcord, and it will be just barely warm enough. I'm mentioning it because it could be a good value option for short-torso people.
2. Patagonia Fitz Roy Parka (21 oz, $449) This is the best all-purpose parka on the market, Patagonia revised it for Fall 2017, incorporating many of the design elements from the Encapsil and Grade VII parkas. Expedition fit, two interior stash pockets, a burly #8 zipper. Highly recommended.
Climbing Boots: La Sportiva Spantik -- they're warm enough for any peak on the planet with overboots. Or for better climbing performance go with the La Sportiva G2 SM.
Vapor Barrier Socks: If you have cold feet or if you're going early season with a lighter pair of boots. This Rab model is go-to for pro climbers. I used them on Mount Logan expedition and was very impressed by how much warmer my feet were.
Ski Boots: A professional boot fitter can help you here. Talk with the folks at the best shops, like Skimo in Salt Lake City and Wilfred at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking in Anchorage. The only thing I'll add is a strong recommendation to size your boot a half size larger than normal and use an Intuition Pro Tour liner, which is significantly warmer and more comfortable than stock liners. Even with oversized boots and an Intuition liner, you may need overboots. Go with the Forty Below Fresh Tracks.
Vapor Barrier Socks: If you have cold feet or if you're going early season with a lighter pair of boots. This Rab model is go-to for pro climbers. I used them on Mount Logan expedition and was very impressed by how much warmer my feet were.
Gaiters: None. Add elastic cord to the bottom of your pants.
Liner Glove: I'm on my second pair of the Arcteryx Ignis, which I love. This is more expensive than other models, but it's made from a more durable hardface fleece and has touchscreen-compatible material on the thumbs and pointer finger, which allows me to use my phone for navigation and photos without taking the gloves off.
Waterproof Glove: The $25 Showa 282 glove is my new favorite. It's made for commercial and industrial work in cold weather and is shockingly durable. The primary reason why this is better than a $200 glove from a major outdoor manufacturer is the outside material cannot absorb water. Leather absorbs water and freezes solid. This is one of my new favorite pieces of outdoor gear. They run small; go one size up.
Waterproof Glove: The $25 Showa 282 glove is my new favorite. It's made for commercial and industrial work in cold weather and is shockingly durable. The primary reason why this is better than a $200 glove from a major outdoor manufacturer is the outside material cannot absorb water. Leather absorbs water and freezes solid. This is one of my new favorite pieces of outdoor gear. They run small; go one size up.
Mittens: RBH Designs' Vapor Mitt with the Alti liner has the highest warmth to weight ratio, and is handmade in Connecticut. They are INCREDIBLY warm and weigh only nine ounces. If you want to go with something less warm, heavier, and from a major brand, I've used the Outdoor Research Alti-Mitt for a couple seasons.
Latex Glove: Pro tip: wear a latex glove when using the mittens to prevent moisture from degrading the insulation. Then you won't need to dry them out at night. You can also do this with the Showa gloves.
Latex Glove: Pro tip: wear a latex glove when using the mittens to prevent moisture from degrading the insulation. Then you won't need to dry them out at night. You can also do this with the Showa gloves.
Balaclava: My favorite is the Patagonia Capilene Thermal Balaclava. I also own the Outdoor Research Sonic, which is warmer (it has a Gore Windstopper membrane) but fogs up my goggles when I use the nose and mouth piece in very cold weather.
Sunglasses: The Julbo Trek with the Zebra lens have become my favorite because they’re photochromic and have big vents on the side that let moisture out before it freezes on the lens. These have been my only sunglasses for three years and they’re still going strong. I add Duct Tape or Tyvek Tape to the bottom of the lenses to create light-blocking "cheek protectors."
Poles: Only for the slog up the West Buttress. Take them to the top! My favorite all-purpose year-round pole is the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork. They do everything well. I’ve glued my cork grips a couple of time and replaced the tips after four years. If you do a lot of backcountry skiing, you’ll want a solid shaft pole for increased durability--the Black Crows Furtis Pole might be the best.
Snowshoes: Skis are way better, but if you're going to walk, the MSR Lightning Ascent can't be beat. I owned a pair in 2011 and 2012, toured the Cascade Designs factory where they’re built, and borrowed a pair for use on Denali. They’re also the outdoorgearlab.com Editor’s Choice winner.
Primary Backpack: The 4400 Porter Pack is the most versatile larger pack on the market. It's much more comfortable for carrying heavy loads than CiloGear packs (I've used every Cilo Worksack, in all fabrics, up to the 60L). The downside is it doesn't climb technical routes well (it’s a big rectangular box) and the waistbelt can't come off. Nonetheless, for carrying heavier loads, it’s much more comfortable. I attach the Porter Stuff-It Pocket when backpacking. The Porter’s lack of dedicated ice tool attachment straps is made up for by the daisy chains. to attach tools, just insert the pick into the bottom, facing out and cinch the shaft with a side compression strap. On long approaches or bad bushwhacks I put ice tools inside the pack, which is only possible with the 4400 size. The 3400 size is better for climbing and most trips, but not large enough for expeditions, multi-sport trips, and hauling big loads up to a basecamp. Thus, I recommend the 4400 size.
Climbing Pack: My favorite ‘overnight’ pack is the CiloGear 30:30 Worksack. I co-own the woven dyneema version with Chris Simrell, outdoorgearlab’s former alpine and mountaineering pack tester. This is large enough to haul decent loads and you can strip it down to work well on fast and light day trips. This is much better than the Arcteryx Alpha FL 45L (Chris and I toured Arcteryx and met with the Alpha FL’s designer, and used the pack on Mt. Huntington’s Harvard Route among other places) because it’s more versatile and more durable. The Alpha FL 45 has some nice features, like the taped seams and dry bag top closure, but overall the 30:30 is a lot better. Zeb used the non-woven dyneema Cilo 45L on Cassin, but the 30:30 is big enough. If you go wth this pack, use the framesheet and foam pad on the West Buttress and remove them for the technical climbing.
Duffel: A low profile duffel is much less likely to flip over in a sled than standard, taller duffels. Consequently, the supremely expensive Hyperlite Mountain Gear Expedition Duffel is the best option. I also own the North Face Basecamp, Arcteryx Carrier, CiloGear Expedition, and Patagonia Black Hole. If you aren't going to drop all of that cash on the Hyperlite duffel, I suggest the $179 CiloGear Large Duffel because it's the most durable I've ever used, and also lightweight. Its higher center of gravity will cause your sled to tip over more frequently, especially around areas like Windy Corner.
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Camping
Basecamp Tent: All the guide services use the Mountain Hardwear Trango. However, the Hilleberg Nammatj 2 is the most versatile four-season tent. It's not as comfortable as a tent with two vestibules, but it's pounds lighter and is many people's go-to for the biggest long-distance ski mountaineering trips in Alaska. After testing 30 four-season tents, including most Hilleberg models, I chose to keep one--the Nammatj 2. I love it.
Cook Tent: Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 4 or, though nowhere near as good, the Black Diamond Mega Light is much cheaper.
Bivy Tent: Mountain Hardwear Direkt 2. I’ve used the two closest competitors (from Black Diamond and Crux), and the Direkt 2 is best. I haven't used the MSR Advance Pro 2, but it appears to be good and is worth considering.
Basecamp Sleeping Bag: Feathered Friends Widgeon EX -10. Super toasty with excellent fabrics. You can save a bit of weight with a Western Mountaineering bag cut with their microfiber fabric, which isn’t waterproof. However, conventional wisdom and decades of cold weather use suggest it's worth getting a more water resistant fabric.
Technical Route Sleeping Bag: Feathered Friends Spoonbill. I've used it since it was first released and there's nothing else like on the planet. A must for going fast and light in the winter.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest Xtherm. Nothing else provides this much comfort and warmth for so little weight. The bottom fabric is tough so you can use it directly on the snow and ice.
Sleeping Pad Straps: If you use a double sleeping bag, the ZPacks pad straps make a world of difference, i.e. a much better night's sleep. I think they're worth carrying.
Basecamp Stove: I've used the MSR XGK EX for all winter basecamp trips and expeditions since 2011. It's the time-tested best foul conditions stove. Some people save a little bit of system weight with the MSR Whisperlite, which is slightly less fuel efficient and doesn't pump out as many BTUs, and is therefore not as good for snow melting.
On Route Stove: The MSR Reactor is absolutely incredible. I also highly recommend these two titanium bowls, which nest with the Reactor perfectly. I pour warm water into to larger one to keep the canister warm when melting snow the smaller one nests inside the 1.7L Reactor pot as if it were designed for this sole purpose! They're expensive, but after four years I can say with confidence they're worth it.
Pot: Primus ETA 3.0 Liter. This has a heat exchanger, which saves fuel, and the nonstick is allows it to work for baking and as a fry pan. Pancakes are possible, too, just make them slightly smaller.
Shovel: Arva Snow Plume. This is really light and surprisingly durable. I've never done a comprehensive hands-on comparison of shovels, but my research in 2014 showed this was the best lightweight model. Now, I've used it over 100 days and have been very happy with it. The scoop’s corners are bent slightly from hitting ice, but it works fine.
Snow Saw: Bring one if you're sleeping at 17 camp. I'm not familiar with the best models. You don't need one on Cassin.
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| Digging out camp after a four-foot dump. 14,000 ft. |
Electronics
iPhone: I switched back to the smaller size, the SE, because I spend many more hours carrying it than staring at its screen. I save trip information to Evernote, plan routes in Google Earth and send them to Gaia GPS so I have maps and navigation info with me. I usually bring maps, too, but rarely use them. The battery last between two days to a week, depending on visibility and how much I use the camera.
Portable Battery: Ankler seems to have a corner on the best value battery market. For general use and most trips, their Power Core Mini is Amazon’s #1 best-seller. For an expedition battery, consider their PowerCore+ 20100 if you might get a new laptop in the next few years (the USB-C connection will soon become universal on laptops). If not, the Astro 2nd Gen E5 has excellent power to weight and capacity ratios and is cheaper.
Camera: The Sony RX100 continues to be the best pocketable camera--so say all the photo experts. I used the second generation until I dropped it in a river. Then I replaced it with the fourth generation, which even better.
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| Eating dinner at 17,700 on Cassin Ridge |
Climbing
Ice Tools: I use the Petzl Quarks, which are lighter and more versatile than heavier tools that excel at hard ice and mixed climbing. I take the grips off for easier plunging on ski mountaineering trips and general use. I find the hammer and adze to be essential for alpine climbs--for pounding pins, scraping off rotten ice, digging bollards, and even digging out frozen tent parachutes (fabric stakes).
Ice Axe: I only own two other ice axes. The Petzl Gully is great for lightweight climbing and glacier travel with a high probability of falling in a crack. Multiple head options allow you to select the correct one for the job. Take the hammer for technical objectives or choose the adze for mountaineering and expedition-style skiing. The 4.5 oz 50 cm Suluk 46 carbon/titanium axe is a great ultralight option for walking across steep snowfields and low-risk glacier travel like the West Buttress.
Crampons: For the West Buttress, a superlight crampon like the Petzl Irvis Hybrid is fantastic. I used this on Mt Logan's East Ridge and was very impressed.
Crampon Case: The best ultralight crampon case, by far, is Tyvek. Swing by your local post office and grab two Priority Mail envelopes for free. I double up by facing the opening of one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. These last for a few months. I don’t bother to reinforce the ends with tape or cardboard.
Rope: The best glacier travel rope is the superlight Petzl RAD. I’d take a 40M Sterling Evolution Ice Thong for Cassin. We had an older rope that created a lot of friction in the snow, which made it a lot harder.
Protection: This might be the perfect Cassin rack: four Black Diamond Camalot Ultralight cams to size 1, Two 120cm dyneema slings, eight 60cm dyneema slings, Camp Nano 22 carabiners, and five Petzl Laser Speed Light ice screws, including one 21cm screw.
Helmet: Petzl Sirocco
Tethers: I’ve tried the ultralight models from Blue Ice, but the elastic broke twice and I switched to the Black Diamond Spinner. Petzl's newly-released V-LINK appears to be even more functional and lighter.
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| Denali Summit Ridge |
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