We try to see who has the hippest catalogue, logo and color selection and make clothing choices exclusively from the winner. Free gear is almost always the best gear. And yes, you get cold waiting for more free gear... hell has been known to freeze over before some companies give free gear.

These days, we wear almost exclusively synthetic clothing (as opposed to wool, silk or cotton). It performs better and smells less over the course of these long trips. In general, be it for the hands, the feet or the upper and lower body, we will wear a series of layers to trap air, insulate, and protect against heat loss. Certainly on Everest, one wears different clothing at different altitudes and temperatures. The rules are somewhat basic though.

Keep the mission of protection from the elements separate from the job of insulating and both can usually be accomplished more efficiently. That means that we'll often use shelled outer gloves and insulated inners that can be taken out and dried when necessary. Our boots will be plastic outer shells with removable insulated inners. On the body we'll often use some combination of three layers. Next to the skin is a close-fitting thin layer of long underwear, thicker and loftier pile or fleece comes next and shelled pants and jackets (with lots of zippers so they go on and off easily and quickly) protect against wind and snow. Trapped air is the best insulator and so this "layering" system is a good way to go when you will be active.

Every climber figures out just what combination of the three layers is appropriate for his or her workout under particular weather conditions. Moisture is to be avoided. Sweating is a bad idea in a place where showers and laundromats are scarce. More importantly, it is dangerous to get wet with sweat due to overdressing and over-exertion in a cold environment because when you stop to rest you will chill quite rapidly (even though your expensive synthetic gear claims to get moisture away from your skin before it has a chance to steal your heat).

We don't wear the shells unless it is snowing or blowing, even though these are some of our most styling duds with great colors and cool expedition and sponsor patches. Shells tend to keep sweat in. It may be hard to prove this in court, so don't rush right out to sue the "water-proof-yet-breathable" gear sellers, but don't bet your life that you can overdress with impunity. Low on the mountain, if climbing comes close to resembling "hiking" and the weather is mild, we might just wear comfy shirts, light trousers and hiking shoes rather than following all the rules for dressing on the big mountain.

Up above 23,000 feet though, we'll often leave the shells and start living in down suits (which are shelled anyway) with the other layers (long undies and fleece) still on board. Way up high, or in a crisis down low, we may go from shelled gloves to shelled mittens for greater warmth. On our heads, baseball hats are widely used to keep the sun off our bald spots. Wool or fleece is cut and sewn into all sorts of groovy modern hat configurations to keep our noggins warm.

Yeah, you get cold. That is what keeps you alive and healthy. When you get cold, you take action. Movement and exercise keeps one warm, pick up the pace to get warmer still. Taking in fuel, otherwise known as eating is a recognized way of getting and producing warmth. Getting in a sleeping bag is a fine way of stopping heat loss. Turning up the flow of Oxygen has been known to keep a few fingers and toes viable for post-climbing pursuits. The point is that feeling cold is normal in a cold place, but one doesn't stay that way or one dies. That being said, there are plenty of times on a climb when one is warm and toasty, sitting in the strong high-altitude sun without wind and with the only concern being how to convince folks down the line that conditions were hellish.

—Dave Hahn, Climber

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