Alaska Range Ski Basecamp Gear Thoughts and Discussion
Fly-in Ski Basecamp in Denali National Park in April! Amazing place, amazing time, surprisingly attainable. I composed this gear list (expanding on what Mountain Trip has here) prior to the trip and have made some post-trip adjustments and clarifications in bold.
Ski Gear
boots. Your regular, day to day ski touring boots are great. I use the Scarpa F1 LT. Next time I would take burlier ski boots. Later this spring I have a Denali ski trip. So I took my expedition boots to Alaska (oversized F1 LT with very thick liners). For a day-trip basecamp trip like this one, next time, I would use better fitting and stiffer skiing boots.
skis with touring bindings. Again, your regular, familiar touring skis are best. If you have a choice, or will be getting something special for this trip, aim for 100-105mm underfoot and 1200-1500 grams per ski. With light tech bindings with leashes (in addition to brakes, if you have brakes. We use leashes on glaciers for crevasse matters).
skins. I go on expeditions with somewhat "fresh" skins. Use a brand new version of a model you've used before or (better yet) make sure you do 8-10 involved (multiple transitions) tours to make sure they'll hold up. An expedition is no place to experiment with the weirder "glue" types; go with traditional glued skins.
poles. adjustable is nice.
Spikes and tech gear
Ski crampons. Mandatory. Make sure they work with your bindings and that they are the right size. They are sized in millimeters and usually available in 10mm increments. Get the size that is equal to or just bigger than your ski waist width. Even then, make sure they actually fit. We didn’t use ski crampons in any meaningful fashion.
Ice axe. Light and short and simple. (I can loan)
Boot crampons. Light and clip on and simple. Lots of good options. (I can loan)
Flotation plates. Like Billy Goat plates. I've got a couple of pairs. If any of you have any, let me know. If you don't, I'll work on acquiring enough for the whole team. They're pretty nice to have. But no one should have to buy them if you don't want. On this trip we had all the major, available options represented (Verts, Billy Goats, Auftriib, Karakoram Sender Plates). Scott did an A-B comparison with the Verts and BG (BG in the AM, Verts PM) and found the BG more secure and easier to pack. In full configuration and depending on what crampons you use with BGs, the Vents are slightly lighter. Otherwise, all the options worked. More detail and discussion here: https://www.wildsnow.com/31123/ascent-plates-a-first-look-into-the-art-of-high-angle-snowshoeing-and-the-best-products-available/
Helmet (your choice. Ski or climbing) I use a climbing helmet in expedition skiing. Mainly, because it has less padding and such to get wet and need to dry out. Make sure your helmet works with all your potential hat and hood combos.
Harness and two locking carabiners. The lightest harness you can afford. But don't sweat it too much. Any modern climbing harness will work great (I can loan carabiners. And maybe harness, size dependent). What’s with the trend of lightweight “ski mountaineering” harnesses closing with a carabiner? Across the board, folks on this trip preferred harnesses that closed securely and tightly with a buckle. These latest ultra light harnesses close with a carabiner clipped to two loops at each end of the waist belt. When it is loaded, everything stays in place. But when it is unloaded the harness can droop and such. Clothes don’t stay tucked in very well. A “two-loop” harness might be nice for rappel accessed ski mountaineering where you only wear and use the harness for a few minutes, and most of that loaded. But a fully tensioned waist belt is nicer for glacier skiing where you wear the harness for full days, likely never using it. I use the Blue Ice Choukas Pro. It is the lightest harness I’ve found that has a proper buckle closure, proper belay loop, and 4 gear loops. (gear loops aren’t necessary in glacier skiing, but I like the versatility for alpine climbing).
If you have your own crevasse rescue kit, bring that. Though this is not necessary; I'll have all the rope and hardware we need.
Clothes. (all this in addition to regular town clothes that we'll leave in Talkeetna)
2 pair ski Socks
2 pair camp/lounging socks
soft-shell ski pants. I use Arc Teryx Rush
Long underwear
Light shell pants (I use Arc Teryx Alpha SL)
Puffy pants. Any insulated pants. Mainly for camp life. Full side zips are nice. Mountain Trip has a few rentals if need be.
2 sets of undergarments
2x Syn/wool baselayer. Long sleeve and/or short sleeve
"Sun hoody". Lots of good options on the market
Mid weight hooded base layer.
Wind breaker jacket
Light puffy jacket
Shell jacket. Waterproof.
Parka. Baffled down jacket. The biggest one you've got or can acquire, within reason. I use Arc Teryx Ceres. Patagonia Grade VII would also work. This is one of the more specialized pieces. Mountain Trip has rentals if you don't wish to acquire a specialty parka like this.
I went with two puffs, as described above. Next time I will go with a three puffy system: An action puffy (like the Arc Teryx Proton LT), a giant camp puffy like the Arc Teryx Ceres, plus a downhill skiing puffy. The camp puffy stays in camp unless it is ridiculously cold. For normal, sunny touring days, a lighter down or synthetic jacket is easier to work with in the field.
2x Mid weight Gloves
2x liner or fleece gloves
Insulated mittens. With some degree of "puffy" insulation. Lots of good options.
Warm hat
2x buff/balaclava
Sun hat
Sunglasses. Dark, full coverage. I have sensitive eyes, so I usually bring two pairs of sunglasses. One set is "normal" sporty sunglasses and the other is full on expedition "glacier glasses". It is nice to have redundancy. And it is worth putting some care into this choice. I’m not very well versed in the glacier glasses options currently. It is worth trying them on “in person”. Outdoor stores and optometrists alike can help you out. An optometrist might have real good options for both fit and lens matters. You could find frames that work well and have lenses custom tinted to be real dark. Make sure that light is blocked from the side. With either purpose-built shields or improvised add-ons. Let’s talk sunglasses “nose guard” too. I’ve found that a duct-tape improvised nose guard is the most comfortable, but the commercially available velcro ones are easier to put on and off. You can commit to a more comfortable option, or have a less comfortable option that can be added and removed as you like. I personally go with a commercial one so that I can remove it entirely when I don’t need it.
goggles. With either transitioning lenses or interchangeable dark and light lenses.
Pajamas. Yes, no joke. Be cozy in basecamp. Fuzzy christmas pj's encouraged, but duplicate base layers used as pj's are probably more versatile.
Camp footwear. Down booties or regular "around town" winter boots. Each has its pros and cons. Down booties are not worth it. They are warm and light, but only one of those attributes is important in this context. Boots with a real sole are far preferable for sustained basecamp time. Down booties are just too slippery for secure camp life, especially in frequently traveled spots like the toilet hole and kitchen tent.
Safety and Camping Gear, etc:
Transceiver, Shovel, Probe.
Pack. 30-40 liters or so. Chances are your regular ski touring pack is appropriate. Though some day to day ski packs are a little small for glacier gear and colder weather clothing. It isn't wrong to bring an airbag pack. If you have one and can navigate commercial air travel in an efficient fashion.
Duffel bag. Soft and light is nice for camp life and getting your stuff in and out of the bush plane. Rigid luggage and ski bag will stay in town. Duffel bag big enough to fit all your gear except your skis, poles and ski boots. For most, that adds up to 80-100 liter duffel.
Down Sleeping bag. Rated to between -20 and 0f. In a stuff sack. (Rental available from Feathered Friends).
2x Insulated Sleeping pad. I use a full-length Thermarest NeoAir XTherm, plus a smaller regular foam pad. Any combination of two full length sleeping pads should work. The foam tent floor liner from FortyBelow is also a nice add-on.
Pillow case. I use the cotton storage stuff sack from my sleeping bag. Fill it with extra clothing for a super deluxe basecamp pillow.
Camp life "butt pad". I use a 2x3 foot piece of old foam sleeping pad.
Eating utensils:
1 plastic or light metal plate (no glass/ceramic).
1 screw/snap lid plastic bowl (ca .5-1 liter. I use a screw lid "Fair Share Mug". Good tupperware is sweet too).
fork, spoon.
Insulated, screw lid thermos/mug- Plastic or metal. Must seal well enough to put in your pack and sleeping bag.
Water bottles. 2 wide mouth Nalgene 1 liter bottles. Nothing more, nothing less. Insulating covers are nice, but not mandatory.
Pee bottle. Disposable, 1-2 quart/liter. Different shape than your water bottles. If you use nalgene for water bottles, use a gatorade bottle for your pee bottle. Or something like that. I personally get a 2 quart plastic bottle of juice. I drink that juice in the first day(s) of the trip and then use the bottle for pee. I dispose of the bottle after the trip. Women have good luck with a wide-mouth plastic jar like peanuts and cashews come in.
Headlamp. With battery power. Use the "lock mode", remove the batteries for transport or somehow do what it takes to keep the light from coming on inadvertently. We won't use this much in April in Alaska...
Couple ski straps each
Toiletries/other:
Toilet Paper
Hand sanitizer
toothbrush
eye care
personal meds, pain relief, small blister kit.
sunscreen. Bring multiple types of sunscreen. I go with three kinds: regular 50 spf lotion, thick "goopy" zinc (like dermatone in the tin) and a "stick" of rub on zinc.
More skin care. Glacier life is hard on the skin. Lotions, lip balm, wipes, foot powder etc
Ear plugs (camp sites can be windy and therefore loud. Ear plugs can ensure adequate rest)
Smartphone loaded up with entertainment and enough extra battery power to get you through. We'll have some basecamp solar power, but having your own extra batteries and cords is wise.
Daytime snack foods. I'll have some basic snack foods (granola bars, fruit snacks, etc) for you to choose from at the beginning of the trip. Any specialized daytime food you like to have, bring that from home.
Camera
Watch
Satellite comms. I'll have satellite communications for emergency use. It isn't wrong to bring your own satellite communicator if you have one.
Pee funnel for women. Seems like the "freshette" is preferred.
Random thoughts on group gear and camp life and such:
We'll have 2-3 sleeping tents. Probably three, for maximum privacy and comfort. Everyone got their own sleeping tent. Deluxe!
And a big, deluxe "kitchen" tent. We might share the kitchen with another group, but probably not.
I'll cover all the kitchen gear and meals and such. I've got notes on dietary restrictions and preferences from some of you, but will probably ask for those again when the time gets closer. We'll eat well (for the wilderness...) and can accommodate most restrictions and preferences.
We will do our skiing as a group of 4, for the most part. Like I've mentioned, there will be at least one other guided group nearby, but we don't want to be tied to them all the time. Sometimes we will travel roped, and sometimes unroped. Sometimes on crevassed glaciers and sometimes not. When we are on a potentially crevassed glacier but choose to forego the rope (only when risk:reward calculations add up) we will have, in the group, two independent crevasse rescue kits. Rope, carabiners, etc. I'll have one of the crevasse rescue kits at all times. But one or more of you will need to carry the other kit. In the event I fall in the crevasse, you all need equipment to help me. And skills to help me, of course. I'll make sure those skills are up to snuff before we risk needing them. All this to say is that you will sometimes have a rope and additional carabiners in your pack.
We'll poop in a bucket and then carry that full bucket back to Talkeetna. It's weird, but actually has some immediate advantages over just burying it. Of course, this also keeps the mountains there much cleaner for the next groups.
Temperatures. On our trip we had nighttime temps in the teens and maybe single digits (F). With daytime highs to 35ish, with sun effect making it feel even warmer. We had very little wind. Ours was perhaps a bit unseasonably warm. Just two weeks prior they were having temps well below zero.