Gear Checklist -- High Altitude Spring Ski Traverse, Colorado Rocky Mountains, Multi-Day, mix of huts and tent nights

Mission: Successful ski traversing without huts requires ultra-light equipment, as well as attention to the details of carrying and using functional equipment. Gear should be multi-purpose when possible. Avoid redundant choices (e.g., carrying a tent and a bivvy sack, or spare sunglasses as well as goggles). Try to reduce weight of each item. Shell pants are notoriously heavy (purchase lighter ones); portion out all consumables (tooth paste, sunscreen) so you carry only what you need for planned days out; watch weight of smaller items such as cups, spoons, gloves and hats; use only lightweight silnyl stuff sacks; use lithium batteries for all electronic devices (except beacons) and for spares.

Total pack weight of the gear and clothing on this list, excluding skis/skins/boots, beacon, and the clothing you wear while climbing should be no more than 16 pounds, and you should be able to get it down to 15 pounds with careful gear selection. (Weigh pack with empty water bottle and no food, but include shell gear and extra clothing layers.) Food weight is 1.5 lbs per day. Group gear (tents/stoves/fuel/rope) should add up to no more than 4 lbs per person. Goal with food and group gear is maximum of 29 lbs (without water) for shorter ski traverses. At the bottom of this page you'll find an online store for many of the items we recommend for spring backcountry skiing.

Externals and sleeping

• Pack (must weigh less than 5 pounds, but must have solid ski or snowboard lashing system and adequate volume, around 3,600 cubic inches. (The Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone is a good example of a pack that fits the bill. Many packs are too heavy.)
• Ski poles (Any good quality alpine or backcountry skiing pole.)
• Skis with backcountry bindings (Use shorter/lighter ski models.)
• Ski lash strap (Long enough for multiple uses.)
• Climbing skins (Nylon type, with tail fix that's trouble free.)
• Ski crampons (Optional but usually carried.)
• Sleeping bag (Must be carefully chosen to work with clothing system so you can sleep warm on colder nights, down okay unless wet weather is expected, max weight should be about 3 1/2 pounds.)
• Sleeping pad (Low density foam such as Ridgerest are lightest weight, trim to narrower width.)
  

Clothing etc.

• Altimeter/watch
• Avalanche rescue beacon with fresh alkaline batteries
• Super lightweight waterproof breathable shell pants (GoLite Shadow is good choice, see online store at bottom of page.)
• Soft pants (Marmot ATV is a good medium weight choice.)
• Ski boots (Fit with room for toes, use before trip to prevent blisters.)
• Socks (No more than one pair spare socks, or just bring the ones on your feet.)
• Long sleeved sun shirt, nylon or CoolMax, cotton if you must
• Bill-cap with ear flaps, or larger brimmed "boonie" hat (Sun protection.)
• Soft shell jacket (Look for simplicity.)
• Insulating layer such as fleece or puff jacket (Down or synthetic puff jacket.)
• Hard shell jacket (Waterproof/breathable with hood, minimal design, if you carry a soft shell jacket make sure your hard shell is super light, should weigh no more than 12 ounces.)
• Acrylic zip turtleneck long underwear top (Mountain Hardware's don't stink.)
• Mid-weight knit or fleece ski cap
• Balaclava, lightweight (No need for this if your soft shell jacket has hood.)
• Lightweight gloves (Thin, with palm wear protection, for skiing when warm.)
• Ski gloves (High quality, waterproof breathable, not too heavy.)
• Camp booties (Something to wear so you can get your feet out of your ski boots while cooking etcetera, a lightweight nylon "mukluk" that goes over your ski boot inners works well for this, is a tough item to find.)
  

The idea of the above clothing system is to use minimal upper body foundation layers, so such layers are functional during warm temperature travel. For stops and emergencies, you carry a puff jacket or fleece. In all, the important thing with this system is that you carry a few ounces less weight in upper body layers, but actually have potential for more warmth in case of emergency or bad weather.

In your pack

• Small LED headlamp (W/ spare batteries, use lithium batteries, BD Ion good choice.)
• Pen + pencil + compass + notebook
• Goggles (Used for storms or if sunglasses are lost or broken.)
• Sunglasses (Prescription if necessary.)
• Sunscreen (Medium size tube, portion out.)
• Lip balm (Make sure it is a sunblock.)
• Camera (Optional, use a miniature digital camera, share cameras.)
• Food sack (Use lightweight sil-nyl sacks for all stuff sacks.)
• Water bottle (1 litter or 1.5 litter size, plan on multiple stops to replenish water, so no need to carry large bottle. No hydration bladder. Poly bottle is lighter then lexan.)
• Cell phone (Optional, small model, if you bring it make sure it's fully charged. In western U.S. wilderness you can usually only get cell phone signal on mountain and ridge tops)
• Personal toiletry items (Includes toilet paper, optional bandanna or small camp towl, trim weight by keeping everything minimal and portioning out.)
• Shovel (Smaller lighter models such as Voile XLM (17.6 oz) are appropriate, larger groups don't need a shovel for every person, aluminum is best for spring multi-day as can be used as stove platform and is best for chopping through frozen corn snow to make tent platforms etc.)

Personal repair and emergency kit, including first aid. More extensive items to be included in group kit.

• Fire starting items (Toilet paper with lighter/matches, combine with ski wax to start fire.)
• Multipurpose tool or pocket knife (Beware the huge heavy ones, get a smaller one)
• NSAID drug of choice (Aspirin etc.)
• Athletic tape
• Duct tape (Bring enough, but not a pound.)
• Mole skin for blisters (optional)
• Necessary knee braces, etc. (Test to be sure they work for extensive hiking.)

16 pound ski traverse pack contents. See key below to identify items. (1)sleeping pad, (2)camp boots, (3)cell phone and notebook , (4)sun hat, (5)backpack, (6)small shovel, aluminum is best, (7)repair/firstaid, (8)puff jacket and lexan cup/spoon, (9)sunscreen & socks, (10)toothbrush etc. and water bottle, polly bottle is lighter than lexan one shown, (11)soft shell and hard shell, (12)sleeping bag, (13)gloves, (14) sunglasses & goggles, (15)headlamp and balaclava, (16)ski cap, (17)ski strap

Wildsnow.com Department Store
Lightweight Spring Skiing Gear

Voile XLM Shovel The XLM is Voile's extra light shovel weighing in at a mere 17.7 ounces with a 6000 series tempered aluminum blade. If you count grams and demand a burly shovel, this is the one for you. Perfect for springtime corn snow skiing when avalanches are less of a concern.

Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone Backpack - 3800cu in The Granite Gear Ultra Light Packer Nimbus Ozone 3800 is a full-suspension, fully framed 3800 cubic inch pack that weighs 3 pounds. The Nimbus Ozone 3800 allows you to carry 40-pound loads in amazing comfort.

Black Diamond Ion Headlamp The Black Diamond Ion Headlamp was designed to be the smallest headlamp in existence while providing adequate light for climbing and backcountry use.

GoLite Shadow Pant - Men's The GoLite Shadow pant is a superlight shell you'll want to pack on every outdoor adventure.

Batteries.com For lithium batteries, or buy at WalMart and other discount stores.