You will need this GEAR for Mont Blanc
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- Опубликовано: 30 янв 2022
- This is my complete GEAR GUIDE for anyone climbing Mont Blanc via the Gouter Route.
Check my blog post which goes into more details about everything bit.ly/3ogCa51
Feel free to ask questions in the comments below :)
A summary of the full packing list here:
Essential Gear
Helmet - Black Diamond Half Dome
Crampons - Black Diamond Sabretooth Clip
Ice axe - Petzl Summit Evo
Climbing harness - Petzl Altitude
1 x locking carabiner
2 x wiregate carabiners
Trekking poles with snow baskets - Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z
Headlamp - Black Diamond Storm 400
Extra batteries for headlamp - AAA
Sunglasses - Julbo Explorer 2.0
Ski goggles
Hydration system - Two 1L Nalgenes and one insulation sleeve
Sleeping bag liner- Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor
Personal gear
Phone
Satellite SOS device - Garmin Inreach Explorer
Watch - Garmin forerunner 235
Earbuds - Jabra Elite Active 75t
Kindle or other brand of E-reader
100 euro in cash
Snacks
Clif BLOKS Energy Chew
Clif Bars
Nuts
Clothes
Underpants - Icebreaker Anatomica Boxers
Leggings - Icebreaker Mens 200 Oasis Leggings
Long sleeve wool shirt - Icebreaker Mens 200 Oasis L/S Crewe
Middle layers
Thin fleece - similar to Arc’Teryx Delta LT Zip Neck Men’s
Primaloft jacket - Arc’Teryx Proton LT Hoody
Down jacket - Arc’Teryx Cerium LT Hoody
Top layers
Softshell jacket - Arc’Teryx Mens Gamma LT Hoody
Hardshell jacket - Arc’Teryx Mens Alpha AR Jacket
Softshell pants - Haglöfs Morän Pant
Hardshell pants - Arc’Teryx Mens Beta AR pant
2 x Thin wool socks - Smartwool Hike Liner Crew
2 x Medium wool socks - Darn Tough Mens Hiker Micro Crew Sock Cushion
Trail runners - Salomon Supercross 3
Mountaineering boots - La Sportiva Nepal Evo
Gaiters - Outdoor Research Men’s Crocodile Gaiters
Softshell gloves - Mountain Equipment G2 Alpine Glove
Warm gloves - Black Diamond Soloist Gloves
Warm hat - Rab Shadow Beanie
Belt - Arc’Teryx Conveyor Belt
Cap - The North Face black cap
Buff - The original Buff
Toiletries
Zip lock bags (small and large)
Toothbrush + toothpaste
Earplugs
Ibuprofen + Paracetamol
Imodium
Prescription meds
Contacts
Skin lotion - Locobase Repair
Toilet paper
Trash bags
Kinesiotape (for taping feet)
Sunscreen and SPF lip balm
Emergency blanket
Band-aids
Backpack
Alpine backpack - Arc’Teryx Alpha AR 35 Backpack
Once again, very helpful and straightforward. Thank you!
That is and will be my goal for this channel! Thank you :D
Nice video mate, thanks. I am starting my training now ready for September Mont blanc climb. Cheers
really liked the style of the video and got a lot from how simple it was :)
Thank you Rasmus for the Gear Guide. Much appreciated! :)
You are very welcome! Hope you enjoyed the blog post too :)
very nice! i find your videos very simple, clear and so easy to follow! and very well executed! thanks! i feel more confident now on prepping my Mont Blanc Climb in end July :)
Thank you so much for your kind words! Good luck with your climb and please reach out, if you have any questions :)
How have you been preparing for the mount blanc hike? I’m assuming you’re using the gym 3-5x a week and doing local walks? I’d love to know
Great video, thanks for posting!
You are welcome, thank you so much for watching!
Great video! You deserve more subs!
Hey Rasmus! We met at Pico de Orizaba this weekend. Seen your videos and loved the content! Keep up the good work my friend. I hope your time in Mexico was great!
Hey Alejandro! It was nice meeting you :) Thank you so much for watching my content and contacting me again.
I finally returned home from my travels (just spend some weeks in Thailand) and will edit my content during April. So stay tuned for more. Mexico was absolutely great!
Hope to see you again one day friend. Take care and climb on!
Soo good! Someone sponsor this guy!
Haha yes please!
Here are my comments after having climbed Mont Blanc this summer:
- Layers still looks over kill to me. I went to the summit in 2 layers only (inner layer Merino and Hardshell for the wind). Make sure to have a good hardshel that also protects your neck entirely and your mouth. The wind is from experience most of the time really strong on those high ridges. I would of course recommend having 2 other insulation layers (fleece and down) in case the weather goes bad. Hardshell pants are good to have, but not necessary in my opnion.
Gaiters are a must for me. Warm and thinner gloves as well
- For mont blanc, I think there is no need to have some really fancy mountaineering boots. I had cat B/C boots with no insulation, works fine. If you have cold feets, you might just bring bigger socks.
- Helmet: of course, and not only for the grand couloir. Take a light one, since you will be carrying it a lot.
- Don't take a screw locking carabiner as shown. Take a tri-lock carabiner. Screw have a tendency to open themselves when subject to vibrations/movement. (if you do it without guide, take the crevasse rescue equipment as well and the rope)
- I didn't need extra batteries. But this depends on when you're planning to wake up and the time of the year.
- You won't have much time for reading at the hut. So imo no need to carry this extra stuff (kindle, airpods)
- There is always phone signal to reach someone via SMS. You even have 3G at the outside the huts (tete rousse and gouter). So no need of the expensive inReach.
You can also take a charger cable. (For Tete rousse, you don't even need the charger, they have USB sockets).
- Bring some cash indeed, but you should be able to pay by card.
- You don't need the expensive Cliff bars. Some regular one will also work fine. You indeed need to pay for water at the hut. 1,5L is 9Euro.
- If you have a correct acclimatization trip, you won't have big headaches. So do some tours around Aiguille du midi or Heilbronner point before.
- Backpack should be normally minimum 35L to fit everything. (if you want to be able to do the lower climbs without carrying your harness and extra layers on you)
Thanks :)
thanks for your info. I'm climbing Grand Paradiso saturday, first time reaching 4000m. Thanks for your comment
@@ChrisBabez Good choice for a first 4000m. I did it also 2 weeks ago now. Conditions were perfect, and I guess it is still good now (but you will know for sure at the hut ;))
There was a LOT of wind on the ridge, maybe take an extra layer just before.
Enjoy :)
Thank you for your comment. I strongly disagree on a few of your points. But a lot of these things are subjective.
For clothing and footwear, yes you can get away with less if the weather is nice and you are climbing in summer. But for spring and autumn climbs, you would definitely need to bring hardshell pants for stormy cold weather. Same for boots, that would need to be warmer. I have tried to make a comprehensive list of gear, that can be adapted to most weather situations on the mountain. We climbed in September, and my climbing partner had really cold feet in his Trango Tower boots. But sure, people have done it in trainers. Doesn't mean it is always going to work, is safe or should be recommended for majority of climbers. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
We also watched some people wander off in a whiteout and get lost. They came back really cold because they had bad gear. So I am all for recommending safe choices.
I agree a triple action carabiner is the better choice. But imho using a screw lock biner is not a big deal. My guide was IFMGA qualified and I trust his judgment. But if someone is buying a biner for this specific purpose, I agree they should go with a triple action.
Extra batteries is for backup. It is a personal preference.
Phone won't always work. It didn't when we climbed the mountain. Which also made using payment cards impossible, hence the recommendation to bring cash.
IMHO the amount of time you spend at the huts depends on how fast you are moving. We were fast and had a lot of downtime. I was happy I brought the kindle and the earbuds for entertainment. Especially when a storm rolled in and we had to postpone the push from the Gouter Hut to the summit. Just leave it a the hut once you push on, it's really not a big deal.
The inreach device is again a personal preference as said in the video and underlined in the blog post. Saved me once in Sarek in Sweden where I was helicoptered out due to an injury. We were 3 days away from anything, so it really came in handy. So I ALWAYS bring it now. It is insurance against unforeseen challenges and accidents. But it is surely a nice to have not a need to have. Mountain rescue is really good in the alps, just don't count on always having cell coverage. Especially if weather moves in.
For snacks I recommend finding out what works for you. I talk about how altitude and high intensity physical work can change your taste and texture preferences. Don't know what your critique was here besides Clif Bars being expensive?
And if you are carrying more than 35L I think you are doing something wrong. I had no trouble fitting my stuff in that size pack. Bigger pack means more space for unnecessary stuff.
Great work dude
Thank you so much Daniel! And thanks for leaving a comment :) Climb on!
Very useful, thanks
You are very welcome!
Keep up the good work
Thanks a lot!
Best Details Video !
Much appreciated! Be sure to check out the details in the blog post which I linked in the description.
Very nice video, very helpful and well done. I wouldn't recommand to wear all black though for safety reasons. In the mountains you need to be able to be seen at a long distance in case of a rescue, and wearing all black you can be confused with rocks. Normal route on Mont Blanc is quite crowded so it's ok, but it's important for any other summit
Thank you for watching and leaving a comment. I agree that black is not a great color for rescue, hence the orange helmet. It is definitely something I am considering changing. But thanks for pointing it out for anyone else watching this video.
very helpful. thanks!
You are very welcome :)
I came across a video where a guy wrapped duck tape around trekking pole so you have more than one piece in case of. :)
That is a good idea!
Amazing!
Thank you so much!
Hi Rasmus. Really nice video! It helped me a lot getting my gear setup right. I ended up with an almost identical list, as I'm a big Arc'teryx fan too.
I'm heading out to Mont Blanc this June and I want to capture our trip using a GoPro. I was wondering which mount you where using and if you have any tips for me. Thanks!
Best regards, Philippe
Great Rasmus. When you were wearing your trainers for the early part of your ascents did you have enough storage space for your B2 or B3 crampon boots in your russack? Mont Blanc Guides, who are guiding my ascent, strongly recommend B3 boots which of course are pretty heavy and stiff and take up a lot of space!
Hi Frank. Glad you also enjoyed this video. It's a great question that I should have put in the video. I didn't carry the boots inside my backpack as you are right it would take up too much space. My solution was simple. I tied the laces of the boots together at the right length and then put the lace across the top of the pack towards the shoulder harness. Then I closed the top lid and used the straps on the side of the pack to cinch down the boots. Does that make sense? If not please tell me and I will try to send you a photo.
Great straight to the point video. Thanks. What brand and model pack did you use?
Thank you Scott! I wanted it to be a quick overview. The pack is an Arc’teryx Alpha AR 35 Backpack. You can read all the details on my gear in my blog post right here bit.ly/3ogCa51 It has all the brands and models for everything in the video.
Very helpful guide - would be interested in your camera gear too. How much did your total pack weigh including personal items and camera gear?
Thanks!
The main camera was a Sony A7sIII with the 17-28 mm f/2.8 Tamron lens, a variable ND filter and a Rode VideoMicro for sound. When it was too difficult pulling that out of the bag or I was too tired I used a GoPro 9 (surprisingly good sound on that one). I also had 28-70 mm 2.8 and 70-200 mm 2.8 lenses but those stayed in Chamonix as they were too heavy for the climb.
I didn't weigh my pack. Without camera gear I guess it was 8-10 kg at the heaviest, but it really depended on whether I was wearing a lot of the gear or not and how much water I carried.
Bro was fully Arc'd out on the mountain lmao. Nice. Caught the haglöfs pants too. Sick fit.
Haha. The things I do to justify the clothes I wear 😅 but seriously Haglöfs makes the best pants ever.
@@rasmuspreston Indeed! They sure do! I work for them so I should know ;). What model are you wearing if I may ask? At first I thought they were the Grit pants but not so sure after a second look.
That is awesome! I really enjoy your products. It's the Morän pants! They are holding up so well and were perfect for the conditions on Mont Blanc. I like the zippered pockets and their placement. The drawcords at the ankles are also very sweet. But the best part is the fit! Squatting has left me with a larger ass and legs which won't fit in most pants, but that is not a problem in Haglöfs pants. One of my friends wear them for that exact reason as well.
@@rasmuspreston I'm glad to hear that! Thanks for the feedback! And boy oh boy do I relate! I know exactly what you mean, I also have the same issue. If you want to call being double cheeked up with hella ass gains an issue! Seriously though, very funny to hear that I'm not alone! You should check out the Grit pants aswell then, a good straight leg pant for us with squatters ass!
Thanks for this to the point video! Quick question: did you actually use the goggles? Was it snowing? Why was it on the list? Cheers!
Thanks for watching Rob! I didn't use the goggles, but they are a must have item if you get caught in a snowstorm. And yes, we had a lot of snow. Fortunately we could wait for the bad weather to pass in the Gouter Hut :)
First of all, congrats to the ascent. I just wanted to ask that last push to the top when you started early in the morning, what jacket did you have all the way to the top? Is it Gamma LT? If yes, Is it enough for such a climb if it doesn't rain heavily?
Thank you Andrej!
You can see all the equipment I used in the blog post here rasmuspreston.com/index.php/2022/01/31/mont-blanc-gear-guide/
And yes, it was the Arc’teryx Mens Gamma LT Hoody for the last part of the climb. I started out with more clothes on. But on the final push it was really warm and I was just wearing a long sleeved merino wool shirt and the Gamma jacket on my upper body. But we had almost no wind. I wouldn't recommend going up there without a hardshell jacket in your pack.
Succinct explanation, thanks. How heavy was your rucksack once packed?
Thank you so much for watching! :) I didn't weigh my pack. Without camera gear I guess it was 8-10 kg at the heaviest. But that depended on how much gear I was wearing on my body and how much water I carried.
Just saw your videos R.,nice achievement for you,myself also got emotional on some summits,keep good work and stay safe.Can you spare with us total costs of your trip,including guide,etc....thank you...
Thank you so much for watching! I am sorry to get back so late.
And thanks for sharing about your own summit feelings as well. I think climbing and big outdoor adventures in general just connects us to something fundamentally human. And that makes us feel very big feelings in those situations. It is something I value incredibly high.
I paid 2300 euros to Chamex for guiding, huts, lifts etc.
I paid 800 euros for 9 nights in Chamonix in a little apartment with two beds. I shared this with my climbing partner. We booked it pretty late, so better rates can probably be found with an earlier booking.
Flights from Copenhagen to Geneva was 275 euros
Transfer from Geneva to Chamonix and return was 70 euros through Chamex partner discount
Then extra food, snacks and water at the 3 different huts was around 60-70 euro
Add to this energy bars, food in town etc. And any missing gear purchase or rental.
Hope that helps! Climb on and stay safe :)
Thanks great video! I would watch out with emodium it can cause headache.
Question what is your fitness level? And how many times a week do you do cardiovascular workouts? Im going for it in june, and train 3 times a week (3 years already) and once a week cardio been added recently.
Thanks Distrax, appreciate your comment. I will copy/paste and answer I give on the other video.
I am by no means an expert on training, but I will describe briefly what I did. I have been lifting weights for some years and continued doing that prior to this trip 4 training sets per week. I focus on compound exercises, which works for me. Additionally I trained a lot on a hill in Copenhagen, which is 85 meters high. I would do one day with 6 laps (510 meters up and 510 meters down) and one day with 12 laps (1020 m up and down) every week. I did that for 10 weeks, and I increased the intensity each time by going faster and adding more weight to my backpack. Just before the trip I could do 12 laps in 2 hours with 12 kg in my pack. Besides that I try to bike as much as possible for my daily commute and climb at the bouldering gym. For proper advice on training I would refer to this book www.patagonia.com/product/training-for-the-new-alpinism/BK695.html which is the bible for many mountaineers afaik :) Feel free to ask any additional questions!
@@rasmuspreston Thanks allot Rasmus! Really helpfully I appreciate it, my compound is strong but im adding those weights to my backpack great tip, take care man.
You too! Let me know if there is anything else I can help with. And good luck ⛏
Great video , very helpful , just one question , can you leave unnecessary gear at the refuge until your descent ?
Thanks Daryl! And yes, that is what we did. I left my trail runners at Tete Rousse and some more stuff at Gouter (toiletries, sleeping bag liner, ear buds etc.). Then I picked it all up on the way down, no problem :)
@@rasmuspreston awesome , I’m just waiting for my confirmation to finalise my stay at the Tête Rousse hut , sorry just one final question , I promise 😂 …. I can’t find any answers to this , I’ll be booked into the Tete hut but while passing the Gouter would I still be able to come in by there for a coffee or drink etc , unsure how it works if not official booked in
@@darylmacvicar6313 Don't be sorry, ask as many questions as you want to :) I am more than happy to help if I can. But I don't know the answer to that question. The hut gets pretty crowded when everybody is there, so that could be an issue. Best to reach out to the hut and ask directly!
@@rasmuspreston yeah I’ll try email and get an answer , much appreciated again , liked n subscribed ;)
@@darylmacvicar6313 Appreciate the sub, thanks a lot! :D
Please advise how did you choose 66cm over 59cm ice axe, and what are your height? Thanks in advance!
When I hold the axe down by my side, it reaches my ankle. That works for me :)
Hej
Så din kammerat havde Keb bukser på, har han tilfreds med dem som softshell ?
Hej :) Tak for at se med!
Ja, han var tilfreds med bukserne. Husk at vi havde helt fantastisk gode vejrforhold. Selv ville jeg aldrig bruge den model til bjergbestigning pga vægt og materialet. Jeg er glad for at bruge mine lette softshell bukser, da de også i mine øjne er bedre til omskifteligt vejr.
Men prøv dig frem. Før i tiden brugte bjergbestigere jo ikke de moderne tekniske materialer, og de klarede sig fint.
What guides did you use ?
Thanks for watching. I used Chamonix Experience and really recommend them!
Can you fit all the stuff in that backack on the approach? Also, are you Danish? =)
Yes, it does! I show that at the very end of the video ☺️ And yes, I am Danish and live in Copenhagen!
Watching stuff like this makes you second guess your decisions.
So my plan is not to bother with a hardshell.
My soft shell whilst breathable is wind proof and pretty decently waterproof so I can't see a situation where I'll need a hardshell.
I've also gone overboard with a down box parka.
The idea is not to need it, but if something goes horribly wrong and I end up weathering out a storm up there moving I'll be greatfull I lugged it up there.
Hi Richard! I agree that it is better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. I would never go on a climb without a hardshell top and bottom. It's an insurance against really bad weather. But I am sure opinions on that differs a lot. I hope you found the video useful for your own preparations :) Good luck!
Why did you buy all black clothes? There is a reason why most mountaineers wear bright colors
I like black clothes, simple as that. The helmet is orange though :)
@@rasmuspreston if your are in need of search and rescue team its better to have vibrant colors so it is easier for them to find you.
I am well aware, hence the orange helmet and the Garmin InReach device. Have a good day :)