Gear for Aguille du Tour

[tj1984]

Hi all,

First time poster

I'm doing the Aguille du Tour in July this year, and just want to know if any experienced folks can go over my gear list and recommend any changes/additions or deletions. Lots of gear sales at the moment, so this is a good time to get things should I need them.

This is what I plan on taking

Boots: Salewa Raven Ms Combi GTX (non insulated B2 boots)
Crampons: CAMP Magix 10 (a little on the light side I know)
Gaiters: Either MEC Kokanee II GTX gaiters, or Rab neostretch gaiters (neoshell)
Axe: Petzl snow walker, or CAMP Corsa Nanotech (which would you recommend I take?)
Pack: Montane Torque 40 (40 L climbing pack)
Harness: BD Couloir
Helmet: Camp armour
Poles: BD Contour Elliptic
Trousers: Berghaus Ampezzo windstopper salopettes (too much for the summer? I have many lighter options)
Jacket: A few to choose from: Rab Alpine wind shell (thin pertex shell), Haglofs Swift ii Q windstopper softshell, TNF five point GTX-proshell
Insulation: Kathmandu X-series down puffy (800 fill, pertex quantum outer, very light and warm)
Gloves: Have everything from liners, midweight insulated softshell, to full leather mountaineering gloves but dont know how heavy duty to go
Midlayers: TNF storm shadow jacket

To date I have done most of my mountaineering in Scotland, and North Wales... with a lot of scrambling and fair weather hikes in the Alps, and Rockies in the summer.... but never done glaciated peaks in the Alps.

Any help/insight is greatly appreciated

Cheers

[rgg]

Sure, you'll need boots, crampons and so on, but it's a bit much to expect anybody to know all these specific ones.

As for ice axe, just about any regular one will do, so if you've got a choice, take the lightest one.

The most conspicuous things that are missing from your list are a rope and a partner with glacier skills on the other end of the rope (more people on the rope would be better), and an assortment of cords and carabiners to rescue someone out of a crevasse, just in case.

Also, assuming you're going to sleep in the hut, you'll need a sleeping bag liner. No need to bring a sleeping bag though.

If you've got winter experience in Scotland, then you'll be glad to know that it doesn't usually get seriously cold up on Aiguille du Tour in the summer, at least not during the day. Just ask for the weather forecast before going to Refuge Albert 1er, and unless a really serious cold spell is predicted, you won't be needing all that warm gear so you save weight and can leave most of it down in the valley. The photo below is me on the summit. I'm wearing just one layer, that is, a shirt and regular cheap hiking pants, and a pair of Via Ferrata gloves that, while nice for climbing, provide little to no isolation. Mind you, earlier in the day it was colder, so I did have more clothes, including mittens, fleece and a jacket. But all that is in my pack right now.


On top of Aiguille du Tour (photo by Mark Hallam)

Cheers, Rob

[tj1984]

Thanks for that. Added some more details. The rope and partner is already taken care of as I will unfortunately have to go with a guide as I cant find anyone willing to go with me. The gear list they provided is however quite vague, so I thought asking others with first hand experience on this website would be a good start.

Thank you for the info. Glad to know it doesn't get quite that cold. I am Canadian though and grew up with -45 winters, so cold doesn't bother me too much, but not having to drag unnecessary gear up is always a plus.