Which Stove Should I Bring?
Polar Explorer Eric Larsen explains why he chooses one stove over another for each adventure.
Mastering High-Altitude Cooking: Essential Tips for Success
High-altitude cooking can be challenging, even for those who know their way around a quality camp stove. The thin air, cold and wind of cooking above treeline can complicate even basic tasks, like boiling water, so you can forget about creating complex dishes above treeline without the right gear. The reality is that some stoves just aren’t built to burn well in the alpine zone. Preparing for a high-altitude environment before you head out is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Fortunately, there are ways to maximize the efficiency of your high-altitude cooking kit. Here’s what you need to know to set yourself up for culinary success at high elevations. Understanding the Challenges of High-Altitude Cooking Did you know that water boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes…
Best 4-Season and Mountaineering Tents by MSR
A closer look at MSR’s cold-weather tent for mountaineers, alpinists and backcountry skiers.
Gear Archives: Diving Deep—The Evolution of the MSR® Snow Fluke
Some people love snow flukes: skiers who want a low-profile anchoring device that fits in their packs; mountaineers traveling in softer or uniform snow conditions; rescue guides or climbing pairs who may need to anchor with only one free hand. As snow protection gear, the fluke definitely has its place, and it’s been part of MSR’s history almost from the beginning. It goes back to 1969, soon after Larry Penberthy founded Mountain Safety Research, Inc. to support the work he began with The Mountaineers of independently reviewing climbing equipment and making gear that was safer and easier to use. Penberthy published his findings in the Mountain Safety Research newsletter, which sold third-party and MSR brand gear. The first two pieces of gear featured in the newsletter were Edmont cold-weather gloves…
Real Food for Mountaineering
When I began my journey of exploring the wilderness, initially I didn’t put much emphasis on meal prep, primarily focusing on the physical activity. During one college summer, I was working as a volunteer for the National Forest Service and my meals consisted mostly of Top Ramen® and Mountain House®. I had a personal stove, which I only used to boil water, and a variety box of Clif Bars® to fill in the gaps. I’m certainly not the first to survive on such a diet, but over the years I have learned to value quality nutrition and I now enjoy real cooking as part of my outdoor experience. These days, I train quite frequently for skiing, climbing, etc., and my body craves more legitimate nutrients. I am also a creature…
Choosing Mountains: Mountaineering with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Diagnosis: Traumatic Brain Injury Exhausted before it even started, my first expedition was one of survival. Constant changes in direction, diagnosis, and dialects across seven hospitals in three countries. 70% vision loss, cognitive chaos, murky memory and an abolished appetite—I was both lost for words and a lust for life following 26 stormy months in a constant climb for my life. Every step felt like an unsteady crevasse crossing, my medical team leading me from the edge of death’s doorstep into an avalanche of unknowns. Adrift amidst the losses, the only sign I could see illuminated was the mountains. They are home, comfort and constant. Mountains allow me to make sense of the confusion that surfaces amongst crowds and questions, stares and cities. Natural colossi—blockades to some, obstacles to others, opportunities…
Exploratory Mountaineering – The Tien Shan Mountains
16 Days and 8 First Ascents in China’s Tien Shan Mountains The Tien Shan range in China is ideal for exploratory mountaineering expeditions. There are hundreds of valleys, each with handfuls of unclimbed peaks and each mountain with plenty of route options. A lot of the routes can be simple mountaineering, but you can choose a line more demanding and direct. Although a lot of these peaks can be easily climbed it’s important not to underestimate the experience needed to safely climb in the mountains, as well as having the correct mountain equipment. I had never experienced exploratory mountaineering before—it had always been daunting. I wanted to make sure I had enough experience to make the most of any unclimbed mountains before an opportunity arose. It had taken me years…
Paring it Down to the Essentials: A Guide’s Gear for a Three-Day Mountaineering Trip
As a guide with the American Alpine Institute on Mt. Baker, I often end up working with clients who try to bring all the appropriate gear but end up bringing just a tad more than necessary. In this post, I will talk about the gear I bring with me on a 3-Day Baker Skills and Climb trip and how I pared it down to its current amount. I hope this will help you on your fast-and-light adventures! 58 Mountaineering Essentials To start out, here’s a standard list of what I bring on a Baker 3-Day… Climbing gear: Crampons Harness Ice axe 1 ice screw 4 locking carabiners 6 non-locking carabiners 20-foot cordelette 2 double-length slings 2 pickets 1 rope Waist and foot prusiks Helmet Clothes: 1 pair soft shell pants…
MSR Cable Picket: How to Build a Snow Anchor
Featuring an attached steel cable, our newest snow picket makes it faster and easier to build a solid mountaineering snow anchor.