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  1. #41
    Registered User egilbe's Avatar
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    I didnt wear my OR crocodile gaiters today, electing to wear just my Polartec neoshell pants. It was -5 so I wanted the warmth. Guess who just stabbed their crampons through their $250 rain pants? Gaiters were in the car, too.

  2. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by egilbe View Post
    I didnt wear my OR crocodile gaiters today, electing to wear just my Polartec neoshell pants. It was -5 so I wanted the warmth. Guess who just stabbed their crampons through their $250 rain pants? Gaiters were in the car, too.
    DOH!!!! Sorry! I've done it before myself. Who hasn't?

    http://www.sierratradingpost.com/mar...shell-pants%2F

  3. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by rafe View Post
    Here's a link to gear suggestions, photos, etc. from someone who seems to know his way around the White Mountains in winter:

    https://resonantliving.wordpress.com...ratures-32f0c/
    She does indeed!

    I could quibble with a couple of the individual gear choices, but that's surely a great list! I think where my choices differ, it's more a matter of style than safety (for instance, I really like the MSR ascent snowshoe system, because at the cost of a few extra ounces, I get a great tradeoff between manoeuvrability and flotation).

    My big quarrel with her list is the sleeping pad. You need two pads for backpacking in winter, and one has to be foam. That way, a deflated pad may mean an uncomfortable, sleepless night but won't turn into a survival situation. I carry the same ProLite in winter that I do in summer, but add some sort of foam - be it a blue foamy, a RidgerRest or something. I may also add a car sunshade, particularly with the blue foamy.

    I'm not sure the 'emergency knife' thing makes sense. If I can't unclip the straps, I surely won't have the dexterity to use most of my safety gear. Food for thought, though. I do keep a pair of chemical hand warmers in a pocket in winter. I can surely rip the pouch with my teeth and stuff them in my mittens. Won't help much with hypothermia, but might for cold hands that can't grip right. I also sometimes carry a chemical body warmer or two that I could slap over a femoral artery.

    In the picture of her cramponned feet, she shows strap-on crampons (they look like G10's), but she lists step-in G12's in the gear list. I presume she upgraded at some point. In that picture, there's also a Jetboil. I wouldn't use a canister stove (except maybe one of the newfangled inverted-canister models) in deep cold. Too cantankerous, and naphtha has a much higher energy per gram. To be fair, that's what her gear list shows. She also shows 'matches/lighter'. I find that lighters can also be pretty cantankerous in deep cold, and carry a firesteel.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  4. #44
    Registered User egilbe's Avatar
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    I carry lighters and firesteel, too. I use a Whisperlight Universal. Inverted canisters are just too damn convenient. Emergency knife is not a bad idea, but I have yet to get to the point of being so cold I cant use my hands. It may happen at some point, but I tend to try and avoid those situations.

    Looks like she's on the summit of Everest in those photos.

  5. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by egilbe View Post
    I didnt wear my OR crocodile gaiters today, electing to wear just my Polartec neoshell pants. It was -5 so I wanted the warmth. Guess who just stabbed their crampons through their $250 rain pants? Gaiters were in the car, too.
    Eyeroll. Been there, done that. In fact, it's practically a given - "wear crampons without gaiters, snag a front point in a trouser leg."

    I've heard of people stepping on their own toes in crampons. That could really be a problem!
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  6. #46

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    Quote Originally Posted by Another Kevin View Post
    I've heard of people stepping on their own toes in crampons. That could really be a problem!
    I stumbled once and cross stepped, putting my right foot on top of my left foot. (Damn gust of wind!) Put a hole in the top of my left plastic double boot. Thankfully it only went through the outer shell near the bottom of the tongue. I'm pretty sure that resulted in me falling down and cursing a little. You can definitely impale yourself with crampons.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

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