Just got back from a winter ascent and camp of a local 4000m peak and I learned I needed some gear improvements. This trip was intended to find me and my climbing partner’s weak spots with our winter mountaineering equipment before we ascend 2-4 6000m peaks in Bolivia in march.
# Camping/Sleeping:
As far as sleeping goes, it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit with a real feel of 6° (wind) and I was using a 20° Nemo bag which obviously was not warm enough. I wasn’t cold per se but definitely uncomfortable all night which made for horrible sleep. So I need a dedicated winter bag. Other than that, my legs were really the only cold part that night. I had on some lightweight merino base layers and soft shell pants.
1. **What temp would you recommend for a winter and or 6000m+ bag? -15,-20,-40?** Think Denali, Aconcogua, other 6000ers or CO winter ascents. I won’t be doing any 8000m peaks anytime soon so I’ll get a different bag for that when it comes around.
**2. For legs, would you rather use a heavyweight base layer, a mid layer, or both?** Since my legs definitely needed more warmth that night, I was looking for a mid layer (think merino sweats) for sleeping when I thought why not just get a heavyweight base layer? My normal layering system for cold is: lightweight base layer, soft shell pants, hard shell for emergency. This works great in the cold but I feel there is something missing when I’m sleeping. HW base layer would work nice but be too bulky when moving maybe vs I could bring merino sweatpants and lightweight base layer and take off the sweatpants for the ascent.
# Ascent:
Other than those things, I felt pretty warm moving during our ascent the next day despite the 70mph gusts and real feel well into the negative zone. I did notice that my toes were completely numb at certain points. I could probably use thicker socks but it was UL ski socks for me that day! I currently use some mammut kento pro GTX high boots since they’re the only boots I have that support semi-auto crampons. They’re warm but I definitely push their limits in that cold. Otherwise, my fingers were only cold cause I kept pulling them out of my mitts, so I’ll get really nice liners (300gsm wool).
**1. Do I really need double boots for 6000m peaks or would something like a Scarpa Mont Blanc work well?** My mammuts are definitely more of a Matterhorn style boot and aren’t too warm so even a Mont Blanc would probably be a huge upgrade but I would rather not get frostbite. These are very expensive though every step up in warmth (MB to phantoms).
**2. What socks do you guys use for super cold ascents or winter ascents?** Right now I only use ultra lightweight ski socks but obviously that isn’t the best idea. I’m partial to Darn tough and Smartwool.
The older I get the thicker the sleeping pad...
Where I live, I need 3 distinct sleeping bags - warm weather (Big Agnes), shoulder seasons/early winter (Nemo), and extreme winter (Big Agnes - takes up the whole backpack!)
I have an REI half dome tent - big enough for weekend camping, small enough that I could backpack with it if I'm not using a hammock. I also have several Coleman Sun Domes as lenders, and my boys each have a Kelty when they don't hammock.
For front country camping, a nice comfy camp chair is worth its weight... consider a lightweight backpacking chair as an addition or alternative. You can enjoy a lightweight camping chair in camp, but hard to take an XXL rocking camp chair backpacking...
Consider hammocking, too, but that's a whole additional rabbit hole to travel down.
Crocnroll4
