Our 5-day trip on the Trooper Traverse is happening in just a few weeks. We’re heavy into making our packs lighter (that’s a pun). Louie is down to around 15 pounds without food or water (fasting works wonders). His list:
|
Sleeping
|
||
| Tent | BD Megalight (with adapter to use ski poles for center pole) | 24.6 oz |
| Bivy sack | BD Winter Bivy (zipper removed) | 10.3 oz |
| Sleeping Bag | Marmot down | 48.1 oz |
| Sleeping Pad | Ridgerest (cut down) | 9.2 oz |
|
Avalanche Safety
|
||
| Shovel | BCA Tour | 16.7 oz |
| Probe | BCA Companion probe (fits in shovel handle) | 5.3 oz |
|
Cooking
|
||
| Bowl | Flatware folding bowl | 1.2 oz |
| Cup | Generic plastic mug, not insulated | 2.0 oz |
| Spoon | Lexan (handle cut narrower) | 0.3 oz |
|
Clothing (note: items usually worn are
not included) |
||
| Fleece cap | BCA logo gear | 0.8 oz |
| Bill Cap | Generic (flaps cover ears and neck, sweat band removed) | 2.1 oz |
| Gloves | Black Diamond Glissade (mid-weight, waterproof for digging those wet snow kitchen pits) | 7.3 oz |
| Puff jacket | North Face synthetic (Dad won’t let me carry down items other than sleeping bag) | 22.5 |
| Shell jacket | Marmot Precip | 14.9 oz |
| Shell pants | Cloudveil Zorro | 9.1 oz |
| Bandanna | Generic (cut down) | 0.3 oz |
| Socks | Extra (thin) | 2.5 oz |
| Neck Gaiter | Buff multi-purpose | 2.0 oz |
|
|
||
|
Miscellaneous
|
||
| Toothbrush | Cut down cheapie | 0.1 oz |
| Headlamp | Black Diamond Ion | 1.0 oz |
| Notebook | Generic (extra pages removed) | 1.5 oz |
| Pencil | Lead pencil (shortened) | 0.1 oz |
| Bible | Gideon mini New Testament | 2.4 oz |
| Water Bottle | Nalgene Canteen 32 | 2.0 oz |
| Sunglasses | Non-prescription (with minimal case) | 3.1 oz |
| Goggles | Zeal Link PPX (without case) | 4.9 oz |
| Backpack | Granite Gear Ozone | 49.0 oz |
Previous blog about lightweight traverse gear.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
