Day Climb - Pack Contents

Osprey Talon 33 or 44

We really liked these packs. They performed flawlessly as backpacks, summit packs and day packs. They are lightweight and yet roomy enough for overnight trips. Amy thought the 33 was a bit small for overnight trips, but not enough to give up using the pack, she just carried less. The packs are not overly padded, but yet are still comfortable. Religiously, we brought rain covers for the packs.

Shoes

We were determined to be as kind as possible to our feet. When I was having trouble with blisters (probably from crampons or wet feet) we took the problem seriously. Except for rare occasions, we hiked in running shoes and brought other shoes for technical climbing. The technical shoes were not climbing shoes, instead they were light boots or shoes which fit tighter and allowed a feel for the rock. The extra weight of carrying another pair of shoes was offset by the extra speed and confidence we gained by the situational footwear.

Head

A balaclava, ski hat, or watch cap - or whatever you want to call it - was always in our pack. Not only did we carry the warm hats, we wore them regularly too. Hanging somewhere from our pack was also a billed sun hat of some sort.

Hands

Windproof fleece gloves were our choice at the beginning of the summer, but by the end of July we were only carrying liners.

Bottoms

In the bottom of the pack we stowed rain pants. On every trip we carried them, even if we had a perfect forecast. Sometimes we carried Gore-tex pants, and other times we carried waterproof pants. I climbed in Patagonia Talus pants, every day. Some days I wore running shorts underneath the pants. Amy often wore shorts, but always carried a pair of long tech pants with her.

Tops

With tops we varied our selection due to weather, but we always wore a lightweight tech tee (long or short sleeved) and then carried a wind shirt, a rain jacket (Gore-tex or waterproof), and an insulating layer. Sometimes we also would include a mid-weight layer.

Kits

The Kit system allowed us to keep the basics packed in ditty bags. We occasionally had to resupply some of the kits (such as the Toilet and Medicine Kits) but the others stayed unchanged. Click below to see contents.

Emergency Kit

First Aid Kit

Medicine Kit

Essentials Kit

Personal Kit

Navigation Kit

Hydration Kit

Toilet Kit

Food Bag - with lots of food!

Helmet

We brought helmets on all Class 3 and above routes.

Ice Axe and Crampons

Because we wore running shoes or lightweight boots we had to wear crampons more often than if we had worn sturdier boots. To be safe we also brought axes more often than not. We generally carried both the axe and the crampons whether we needed them or not.