UKH

Cutting out the clutter is not just about taking weight off your shoulders to allow more mileage. There's a zen-like beauty in minimalist backpacking too, says Norman Hadley.

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I once knew a Canadian climber who said some people actually went as far as drilling holes in their toothbrushes to reduce pack weight. He wasn't joking

Now apply the above philosophy to winter climbing. For if a winter sac doesn't kill you on the walk-in, that missing bit of gear you left behind just might. Seriously though, the real challenge with winter mountaineering is how to get weight down to a minimum without sacrificing safety, a difficult equation. True we have ultralight ropes, boots and crampons, but there is still a long way to go. I imagine there must be a pair of ultralight axes now on the market.  The dilemma whether to carry that extra pair of gloves,  a dry thermal to change from the sweaty one. I once carried a full weight 60mt rope up to Stob Coire an Lochan...and died. Lesson duly learnt. So I fight this constant battle to reduce weight. The other option is obviously to get fitter, or get a lot richer to be able to afford all this ultralight gear!

Usually ones death precludes the learning of lessons...

The canny option is to engineer things so as to have your partner carry the heavy stuff.

Very good! I had to google escritoire, so have learnt a new word as well. I must report I found on Amazon a reasonably priced (less than a tenner) titanium poo trowel that also is designed to be a tent peg, a reassuringly large one at that.

For some reason I only seem to have taken photos of the gear laid out before bikepacking. A photo of your gear laid out seems to be a central part of bikepacking culture, not just ultralight backpacking. I even included one in a UKC review - https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/camping/sleeping_bags/therm-a-rest_hyperion... which coincidentally looks like the same bag that Norman has in his pic!

Going light I think is as much about matching route choice to the conditions, weather, time of year. Thinking Scottish winter, go light every time, but if it's January, not the best weather etc.  drop a grade or two on a crag you're familiar with. March, sunny, high pressure then push it. It's balancing risk, likelihood etc..

You don't go light pushing up a grade, on crag you've never been to before and so on, don't change too many variables. 

"I've got the rack in my bag already, do you mind carrying the rope!?", when the rack is 5 wires, 2 cams and a couple of slings! 

I've been trying in recent years but agree its hard. Even though I know I'm lucky enough to have some really great ultralight gear, for days of pitched climbing necessitating double ropes, I still need a 40 ish ltr pack. For days of wintery scrambling where I'm happy with a light single rope (or where I'm on my own and take 30 mtrs of rope and very stripped down rack to allow me to ab off something in an emergency) I can get everything into a 30 ltr pack, like in these pics: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/exped_black_ice_30_pack-14... Modern weather forecasts really help with deciding what you can get away with, but I  take a both bag every time regardless of the weather. I do now generally use a down jacket for my belay jacket rather than synthetic, that helps with weight and bulk, but the majority of my winter days out now are day trips from home. If I'm off up to Scotland for a few days, and particularly if camping, synthetic still rules.

Reads like Terry Pratchett on 6 espressos, a bag of skittles and several nights of insommnia. Could the ultralight philosophy please be applied to the prose? Ta duck.

I see where you're coming from, but I enjoyed that about it.

I was reminded of Saleem Sinai, but as if he were attempting to breathe life into a rather esoteric and inward-looking online article for gear nerds, rather than narrating an epic magic realist account of the emergence of an independent India from colonial rule. Also, probably a Saleem who has over-indulged in a batch of fermented chutney.

As a mountain guide once pointed out to me as I smugly pulled out my sawn-off alpine toothbrush..... why not just leave the brush and paste behind.

Mind blown. Never looked back. As long as it's a 2 day trip. Apologies to my climbing partners.

I really enjoyed it the article because of how it was written, not normally a subject I’d bother with otherwise. 

I'll wager someone somewhere has struck on the ruse of plucking out every other bristle from the head, PoD. Good luck to 'em.

Agreed, Sean, winter climbing kit makes it way harder. I used to do the rope-in-lieu-of-Karrimat trick, plus there was a lot of soloing.

Happy to help with the esoteric vocabulary, Toby. 😃 

Yes, that's the same bag. I spent ages on that decision because I was severely constrained for space. But it's proved a real asset and I've managed to stretch it to year round use, including a minus seven Celsius pitch on the summit of Great Gable, with judicious layering inside. Way beyond the design envelope but it worked. 

Yes, that's one of the beauties of short outings. I can get a pretty reliable MWIS forecast (and in winter I avidly track the snow condition report) so I will tweak the kit-list at the last minute to suit the terrain. 

Actually, my stimulants of choice are qat leaves washed down with lashings of Red Bull. But If I can't get them, I have to rely on the whole "high on life" malarkey.

There was a funny interlude among The Clean Hand Gang many moons ago of sneaking heavy rocks into fellow climbers' packs before the slog up to a high crag. It was surprising how often they didn't notice

Oh, the fun we had 

Another advantage of going super-mega-ultralight, PoD: you couldn't sneak so mych as a Prussik loop into my bag without me noticing.

Actually when soloing you can really cut the weight. No rope, harness, hardware, just a helmet and balls. And besides little chance of a finish in the wee small hours!

Catering tins of anything, ideally fruit, then hand them a can opener on the summit was often the classic in the military. Don't leave your hill bag unattended! 

Fun piece - thank you !

Adding to Profitofdoom's aside, in the 80s, the Crane brothers ran the Himalayas, calling in to BBC R4 Today Programme to give updates. They described their prep for the trip - which included cutting toothbrushes in half and snipping out all the labels from their clothes. They made a pile of all their 'weight savings' - it came to a couple of kilos between the two of them. Sometimes the weight-weenies are on to something 🙂

No need to apologies I wouldn't think, unless you are more than just climbing partners.

Does your tent fall down when you go for a poo in the night?

I would have thought a spoon that doubles as a poo trowel would make more sense since you are unlikely to be eating and pooing at the same time.

I'm amazed that someone trying to seriously minimise weight would take a bivi bag as well as a tent, a spare set of clothes and an inflatable mat. Let alone a power pack. 

Many moons ago when motorbike racing was my financial sinkhole, one of my friends had spent many hundreds of pounds on a new back wheel for his drag race bike to save 400g. He was very happy. Until I pointed out that he had also put on 3kg in bodyweight over the winter. 

It's the news none of us want - going light starts with our diet! Personally, I'll carry a few extra body kg for warmth, and that's fair justification in my book.

Hi Robert

Yes, the bivy bag tends to raise eyebrows but it might more accurately be called a sleeping bag cover - I think that’s how it’s marketed. It’s only 180 grams anyway, and includes bug netting. I use it because my tent also stretches many people’s definition of what constitutes a tent, being floorless and single-skin. It’s a great shelter - exactly 400 grams including pole and pegs - but it’s spartan. So the Moonlite is the ideal partner to ward off draughts, floor-damp, condensation-drips and bitey beasts.

Spare clothes might sound nesh but they’re only thin Merino baselayers - total 300 grams for a long-sleeved top and long johns. That’s a price I’m willing to pay in my dotage for a bit of warmth.

The mat is 258 grams. I know I could go lighter (and increase reliability) with thin foam but, on top of the comfort trade-off, that would create a packability headache. My focus is, if anything, more on volume than weight. The nominal capacity of that race vest in the pictures is 5L so there’s not a lot of wiggle-room. 

The power bank is 75 grams and about the size of a pack of chewing-gum, so not too onerous a burden for something that could make a life-or-death difference in the event of a conked-out phone and/or headtorch.

Fair point, gribble. Weight worn on the body can't be overlooked. Literally in the case of my midriff. 😉 

ive backpacked with stupid heavy weights (for work) and I've gone winter soloing without the bare essentials (MR friends despair of me) I think there's a time a place for both. But with deaths almost every year in Scotland linked to going out without enough/appropriate  kit it would be great to hear the authors thoughts on when ultralight becomes ultrarisky?

That explains so much. Enjoy!

Hi yodadave

It's an interesting question because there's a tonne of "It depends" in any sane answer - terrain, weather, experience level etc etc.

And I'm clearly not keen to get judgy with anyone who takes it to the edge - I wholeheartedly admire the non judgmental attitude of the MRTs when folk come unstuck.

All I'd ask of people is to have at least considered the question, "what's your backup?". Hence the flysheet being wearable etc etc.

I don't even do light, let alone ultra, but I loved this. Please write some more stuff (as I loved the writing) and also loved it because I claim to be on the holistic/systems end of thinking yet this has given me a whole bunch of new viewpoints.

What beautiful brevity!

Whats your Backup is a fine response, is that the rational for your battery pack as well? it struck me as an odd one to bring.

Risk, not sure the accident data sheets of the respective MRCs would show it, but I'll guess of those accidents related to equipment shortages, it is those who are unknowingly under prepared who have more problems than the experienced, who generally know precisely what corner they've cut and the potential consequences. Be it clothing, thin rack, minimal lighting etc.. of those under kitted crampons, map or compass and head torch are generally the biggest absences, which most fast & light experienced activists would always consider as essential. 

Or what is the reliability of what you do take, chance of breakage or failure, what's the lightest easiest way to minimise that risk. 2m of silver tape, 2m of 3 or 4mm cord, second micro head torch, cut out map of just where you're going. I wouldn't duplicate, just add redundancy. 

Thanks, Simon, that's a hugely heartening comment. I'll be back on here as often as Dan will have me. I think if you click on my name (or tap it, or say it three times) a few of my previous contributions will come up.

Hi yodadave.  Yes, as I noted to Robert, the power pack is tiny. I'd find it hard to look an MRT leader in the eye and explain I ran out phone juice to save 75 grams.

One of my big drivers is looking for multiple uses. I watch thousands of YouTube camping videos and they all lay their sleeping bag out (where it spends the evening doing nothing more than lofting up), then pull out a down jacket to wear.

This is my compromise - fasten the sleeping bag around the torso with a thin windproof gilet. https://imgcdn.ukc2.com/i/406696?fm=jpg&time=1684748658&dpr=1&s...

What a fab article breathing life and joy into a subject that is often present in grams and dry diktats. Loved it.

Enjoyed reading the article.

I think that it is possible to experience the 'zen like beauty' of 'minimalist backpacking' without having to spend big money on ultralight gear, by making careful choices (the Speedster alcohol stove based cookset), dual purposing equipment where possible (I too use a wide tent peg as a poo trowel), and, most importantly, only taking what you really need.

Spot on, WaW. The Speedster stuff is phenomenal value - I love it. I got good deals on both my summer and winter mats. The tent (shaped tarp, really) was reasonably priced. It doesn't have to be bankbreaking.