You can find the gear list here. (NB. I am trying out Google Docs to share the gear list file. Let me know if you have any hassles with it.)
My base pack weight was 11.7kg (25.7lbs). This increased to 17.7kg (39.1lbs) with food & water. My skin-out weight (everything carried and worn) was 22.7kg (50.0lbs)
I am not sure I can get this much lighter for winter walking; however, there is plenty of scope for reducing the weight in the warmer months.
If you have any suggestions on how I can reduce the weight, let me know.
A few highlights of the gear:
- The biggest lesson from the trip was discovering that my home made pyramid tent was not quite up to mountain top conditions - I lost some corner tie-outs in the middle of the first night and spent the rest of it trying to stop the tent from blowing away. I am sure I could make the tent a bit more mountain-proof, by doing things like digging out a platform, adding flaps to the sides to weigh it down and strengthening the tie outs. Alternatively, I will look at making a new tent suited to winter use.
- My myog quilt was nice and warm at the coolest night time temperature of -4C, while wearing thermals, beanie, socks, gloves and two mid layers; however, I think that was close to it's limit - if I need to go to say -10C, I reckon I will need to go add a down bag or quilt. Hmm, sounds like another project.
- My MSR Pocket Rocket struggled a bit on the snow, with the sub-zero temps playing havoc with the propane/butane mix. In future I will need to look either at solutions to keep the canisters warm (ie. >0C) or else get a stove designed for winter use. I have got my eye on the MSR Windpro or perhaps the Fire Maple FMS-100T. both of these will allow me to invert the canister. Got a stove you can recommend? Let me know.
