Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

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pjc30943

 
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Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

by pjc30943 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:43 am

I compiled a detailed listing of gear weights for upcoming trips, and total weights are higher than ideal for a 6000m moderately technical peak (tocllaraju W face, or ranrapalca N face or NE ridge; both in early to mid July this summer).
Any thoughts for reductions, or specific advice for what isn't needed (for those routes) in your experience? The more opinions the better:)

Despite lightweighting ~5-6 lbs off already by going to different brands or models, the total weight of everything aside from a bare human climber is 57 lbs.
A summit configuration for eg ranrapalca (includes rock as well at some parts), total pack + rack weight is 34.5 lbs, would like this <30 lbs, ideally 25.

I'm hoping to cut 5 lb at the least, for a max pack + rack weight of 30 lb (which is already on the heavy side if trying to move fast); that's a total gear weight of 52 lbs.
Super bonus would be cutting 8 pounds total, for a pack + harness/gear weight of 27 and total gear weight of 49.

However, 3L water is already 6.6 lb, camera gear is already 4 lb, pack is 2.4 lb, so that is ~13 lb 'non-negotiable' weight.

For those who would find the details useful, here's a higher-level summary (not every single component is broken out)
- ropes: 2x beal ice lines are assumed as split weight for our party of 2-3. Doesn't count into pack weight, only total carry weight
- base pack, 2.4 lb in-pack weight: lidless lowe alpine alpine attack 45-55 pack + sunscreen + chapstick + hand sanitizer + compass/whistle + topo + emergency reflective bivy (3 oz)
- food/water, 8.4 lb in-pack weight, will decrease towards 0.5 as climb goes on: 3L water (6.6 lbs), lightweight platypus hydration bladder + powerade container instead of nalgene, 10x gu, 3x smaller snacks (eg gummy bears, chocolate bar), 1x larger snack (eg peanut butter or salami sandwich)
- camera gear, 4 lbs in-pack weight: ultrawide APS-C camera (Fuji X-T1 + 8 mm lens) + gopro/mount + many bats; cell phone.
- technical gear, 16 lbs total, 13 lbs in-pack/harness weight: 2x quarks / harness leashes; 2x 2ft pickets; sitta harness; 10x petzl laser speed screws; yates screamer; rock gear (.5 + .75 + 1 BD C4; blue+yellow TCU; pink tricam; #2 linkcam; half rack of BD nuts. I think this can be reduced to be more specific for a route), 10x mammut 8mm dynemma single length slings; 3x double length of same; 1x nylon single length runner; 40 ft 7 mm bail cord (10-15x ablakovs + spare for larger rock rap anchors); v-thread tool; creavasse gear (ultralight pulley / sterling sown prussik / sterling short hollow block); lightweight petzl knife; nut tool+cord+biner; strerling short purcell personal anchor; ultralight BD single trekking pole; snow claw ultralight hand shovel; 20x camp nano wiregate; 4x ultralight wild country lockers; 1x light BD pear belay biner; BD ATC guide.
- clothes, 8.8 lb total, 5.5 in pack (for reserve: use during belays, colder weather, etc): liner socks + heavyweight smartwool socks; croc gaiters; patagonia dual point alpine pants; leg base layer (in pack); lightweight patagonia base layer; patagonia R1 hoody; patagonia kniferidge jacket; rab photon x belay jacket (in pack, for belays); adidas glacier glasses; BD spot headlamp; petzl sirocco helmet; fleece cap; balaclava (in pack, for colder weather); OR alpine alibi ii glove (in pack, for belay, colder weather or wet other gloves); small TNF fleece glove liner; OR gripper glove;
- boots + crampons, 6.5 lb total: la sportiva nepal cube boots; camp nanotech XLC crampons (<-- obv not suitable for prolonged mixed, or prolonged steep ice, would bring vasaks in that case in exchange for an additional pound on the feet)

Possible weight reductions:
-Go to single beal opera + tagline for 60m rap, instead of 2x iceline. Drawback is less security while climbing, can;t do team of 3; will save ~ 2 lbs
-reduce camera weight via another camera. (gopros must stay). Not sure where to find a camera withs similar specs with similar wide angle capabilities (and viewfinder for bright mountain days).
-reflective bivy (3 oz), at the expense of our only fallback for injury protection/bivy if needed.
-snowclaw shovel (6 oz), at the expense of needing to dig in quickly for whatever reason. Snowclaw also doubles as a wrap-around emergency splint, better than back pack bivvy pads. Most inclined to leave this out, axe adze may make do but slower. Snowclaw also triples as a deadman for a rap if suitably buried, it's rated for that.
-gaiters (10 oz), at the expense of the approach possibly causing wet boots. Dry feet = important for staying warm.
-eliminate nylon sling (2.5 oz), use bail cord if needing a tied sling.
-bring less than 3L water. However I drink a lot.
-bring less food. I generally bonk if not having a constant stream of nourishment, though :)
-bring less than 3 pairs gloves. However, on a long snow/ice route like Toclla west ridge, having reserve glove = safety

Cutting out the only realistic candidates of shovel + gaiters + nylon sling removes 18 oz, so that leaves ~ 4 lb to go. If removing say 2x cams, that's another 0.5 lb, so 3.5 lb to go towards a 5 lb reduction.

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infinityjellyD

 
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Re: Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

by infinityjellyD » Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:04 pm

At 4 lbs, my hunch would be that with some searching you can find a lighter camera setup. Of course, it all depends on how dedicated you are to having a full setup. The GoPro is wide angle and HD, no? Could you rely on that for wide angle shots, and then pick a smaller/lighter camera for you "true" camera? I use a Ricoh GR on all travels and, although it's not for everyone (it has a fixed lens), it has a ASP-C sensor and full feature control and only weighs 0.6 lbs! The way technology keeps pushing, I'm sure there are some small light but powerful options out there. Just a thought.

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Re: Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

by nartreb » Fri Feb 19, 2016 4:43 pm

Rope and the pack itself are the obvious places to start. That pack is probably a lot bigger than you need for a one-day push. Carry your rack and rope outside the pack. Pick a rope system based on your route and team, don't assume you always need two ropes.

Next, I'd lose the shovel.

Your main camera weighs about 1lb, I know GoPros are light (but why 2 of them??)... so I'm surprised your total is 4lbs. How many batteries are you carrying? Maybe you don't need so many? Cut down on your video time a little, so you don't drain your batteries? (Save yourself hours of editing too!)

10 oz is a lot for gaiters. If you're not in deep snow all day long, switch to low gaiters or none.

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Re: Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

by kevin trieu » Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:38 pm

aren't you splitting the technical gear?

If I were you I would do the following:

-leave 1l of water. Chug that 1l in the morning before leaving.
-get lighter camera
-leave cell phone
-bring 1 tool 1 axe. these routes do not require two tools i don't believe.
-either leave or wear the long underwear. you going to stop mid route to remove your gaiters, crampons, boots, harness & pants to put on long underwear?
- take 3 lockers. 1 to anchor, 2 to belay using the autolock if you have 2 followers.
-leave 3 ice screws, 2 linked cams, 2 alpine draws (you plan to place 10 pieces of pro on a moderate route? i don't think there's enough ice to place that many screws. pickets might be more useful. there's good amount rotten snow in the Blanca)
-leave shovel
-leave POS. use rope to anchor yourself.
-leave 1 pair of gloves. it's cold up there. your gloves won't get wet from the snow but more from your sweat.
-leave hand sanitizer (wtf?)

what's the weight saving with this change?

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Re: Further lightweighting gear for summit pushes to 6000m

by pjc30943 » Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:37 pm

Thanks guys for the thoughts, this is helpful to parse:

nfinityjellyD: For me, a large reason for going to the mountains is photography. The Fuji X-T1 (aps-c) is 1 lb body, 11 oz fisheye lens; i haven't found a setup with similar sensor size and wide angle, at a significantly lower weight. Totally agreed on the Ricoh GR, it looks nice, and i'd considered it too. But its maybe only 3 oz less in total if going with the Ricoh + wide angle lens, but even that is not as wide as i'd like, and it has no viewfinder for framing in bright sun. I bring a second compact (rx100, 10 oz) for zoom shots, to avoid time/contamination in switching lenses. A second zoom lens would be heavier than that compact anyway. The gopro is indeed wide angle, but nowhere near the image quality of a camera.
If you have other camera suggestions, that's totally welcome!

nartreb: true about the pack. In this case, removing frame and lid brings the pack to 2 lbs. Two ropes are full full-length raps, else a 12-pitch climb needs 24 raps. Could bring a tagline instead as mentioned (saves 2lb)
Ah, typo if I said more than one gopro; only one gopro, + a few batteries. Good call on lighter gaiters.

Kevin: nice thoughts all around, thanks.
- We can leave one phone (5.7oz) and cumulatively have 2 of the group of 3 (so any accident by one person still leaves a phone somewhere). I've heard that depending on the condition of the route, 2x tools may be needed (I haven't been on these routes, so this is second-hand knowledge). But, perhaps only for the leader, so that might save weight if the second uses a lighter axe.
-10 slings + 10 screws + the cams is for simulclimbing vs belaying, so allows placing more gear before having to stop to belay...ie potentially faster overall on easier terrain. But, there's obviously a weight vs speed tradeoff on that one. It sounds like you prefer less gear and more frequent belays on moderate routes? Also i'm only bringing 1 link cam (the #2), so i couldn't leave 2 link cams.
However, if cutting 3 screws (3.6oz x2), 2 alpine draws (2.6 oz x2), that's be 12.4 oz removed.
-Will leave PAS (3 oz)
-Will leave snow claw shovel (6 oz). Two of you saying that confirms my suspicion to cut that it too:)
-Hand sanitizer is for after going #2 (if that happens). Its only 0.4 oz weight, for 2-3 uses total, so i'll keep that.

Including a lighter gaiter (say half the weight), total of the above that could be further removed is ~30 oz. Nice!
Any other thoughts?


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