Equipment for Himalaya Expeditions, Climbing and Trekking

Equipment Questions? Please contact us: info@SummitClimb.com and HimalayaTrek@earthlink.net

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This equipment list is organized into three sections. Please scroll down to learn more.

1. Equipment List for Mountaineering and Glacier Travel (Mountaineers and Climbers: Please bring the equipment from this list; in addition to the items from the "trekking" list below),

2. Equipment List for Trekking, Touring, and in Town (All members, please bring the items from this list),

3. Group Equipment List for Expeditions (This is what we bring for you).

What weather should I expect?

The Himalaya ranges, where Everest and all of the peaks we visit are located, are situated at a latitude similar to that of Cairo, Egypt, and Austin Texas. The Himalayan regions are generally warm and dry, especially at the altitudes which we will visit on our trekking routes, and in town. For example, Kathmandu, located at 1300 metres, is almost never cold. It can be occasionally windy and there may be wetter or rainy places in high valleys, and the higher the altitude, the more likely you are to encounter winter conditions, above 5000 metres (16,400 feet).

For touring in town and basecamp trekking in the months of March you might need a few warmer items. During April, May, July, and October you will benefit from the generally warmer weather, but things could still get cold at the high point of your trek. Trekking temperatures can vary from 25 degrees centigrade in the cities to -10 degrees centigrade at the highest point of the trek (such cold temperatures are very rare whilst on trek). By the way, you wont need to walk through deep snow during our treks. 100 percent of our treks are on well-maintained snow-free trails. If you are joining our service trek, there wont be any high altitude (all of the trek is below 3000 metres), so please expect warm and sunny temperatures most of the time.

Mountain weather in the Himalaya is typical of most mountain ranges – fine and warm conditions in the mornings, then cloudy and cooler in the afternoons.

If you are a climber, because you’ll spend a lot of time at basecamp, be sure to bring enough to stay warm and comfortable. Expect overnight basecamp temperatures to be around minus 15-20 degrees Celsius. On the mountain, particularly above 6000m, temperatures without wind chill can be as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. In addition, those who are climbing 8000 metre peaks will prefer to have "One-Sport" boots and down-duvet pants and jacket or a down-duvet one-piece suit.

Where should I purchase my equipment?

We recommend that you shop carefully, and purchase the cheapest and best equipment available. In over 50 well-stocked mountaineering and trekking shops, Kathmandu has a wide variety of inexpensive used and competitively priced equipment, boots, shoes, and clothing. We recommend you purchase your Millet Everest One-sport boots and crampons in Kathmandu, where a very wide selection is available for reasonable prices. We also recommend you purchase your down/duvet jacket, trousers and suit there as well, again for some of the best selection and prices to be found anywhere. Please send us an email to request a price list. If you need a pair of high altitude mitts, we don't recommend Kathmandu, but rather suggest you check out mittens by Outdoor Research (the Alti has been popular with our Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, and Pumori Summitters).

The web has many inexpensive sources such as EverestGear.com . Around the world, there are some very inexpensive places to purchase equipment including Pegler's in the UK, Snell's in France, Second Ascent in Seattle and Mountain Equipment Coop in Canada. It may be best to telephone them directly with your questions, as they are very busy and do not always answer email enquiries in a timely manner. When you do contact them, always be sure to mention your name and the name of our company and expedition leaders to them, as we send them many customers and they often give our members substantial discounts. You may or may not choose to purchase the product from them, but it should give you a good idea of what the fair price for the equipment should be. We especially recommend Second Ascent, as it has a very large selection of second hand and rental mountain climbing equipment.

One strategy our members often pursue is to visit Seattle for one of our Glacier Schools, and then during time set aside during the course, work together with our leaders to try-on, compare, and purchase and hire the equipment they need at one of the more than 20 specialist mountaineering shops in Seattle. It is rare to find so many mountaineering shops in one place, but Seattle is known for its large glaciated peaks, and large community of mountaineers.

Three of our leaders are sponsored by equipment companies, so please do check out Jay Reilly's sponsor for duvet down gear, and Arnold Coster's sponsor for clothing. Also please visit Elselien te Hennepe's sponsor IceBreaker for layers: . Please return to our site when you are finished. Thank you.

Equipment List for Mountaineering and Glacier Travel* Mountaineers and Climbers: Please bring the equipment from this list; in addition to the items from the "trekking" list, which you shall find below. Thank you. [BACK TO TOP]

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Personal Equipment	Group Equipment	Personal Equipment	Group Equipment