Mid-March in Ashford, Washington
Gear is being loaded onto the 24 ft U-haul to take it to Thai Air Cargo. It will go by truck to L.A., then hop a big bird to Kathmandu, then get loaded onto another truck (actually, three trucks) together with all the individual gear bags that will fly with the team. Then it will all head to the Chinese border (pay no attention to the 2,000 vertical foot drop right there about six inches from the passenger side of the truck.) Add in some more gear already in Tingri, all in all about 100 Outdoor Products Collossal duffels, each weighing about 70 pounds. You do the math, but I think this is about 3.5 tons of stuff, plus the oxygen, shipped separately and weighing in at over 700 kilos. Pity the yaks. What's in all these duffels? Here goes. Not by any means a complete list. —Erin Copland, International Mountain Guides

Climbers' and Sherpas' Clothing

• Lowe Alpine MFS Tech jackets
  
• Lowe Alpine TPC side zip pants
  
• Lowe Alpine Aleutian 375 fleece jackets
  
• Lowe Alpine Powerstretch underlayer
  Absolute Zero down suits
  
• OR hats, including B-17 Bombers and Hats for all Seasons
  
• OR Alpine Windstopper hats
  
• OR Windstopper Gripper gloves
  
• OR HD Crocodile gaiters
  
• OR Mutant Modular mittens
  
• OR Moonlite Pile Gorilla balaclavas
  
• Vasque Sojourn hiking boots
  
• Vasque Alpinist double leather climbing boots
  
• Random camp shoes ranging from booties to running shoes
  
• Fleece pants, extra sweaters
  
• Socks, socks, socks, long johns, long johns, long johns
  
• Each person's own selection of street and low altitude threads
  

  Climbers' and Sherpas' Personal Gear
  

• Lowe Alpine Australis 70 backpacks
  Turbo goggles and Smith Sliders polarized sun glasses, glacier glasses
  
  
  
  
• Water bottles and pee bottles
  
• Cameras of all types, lots of film and camera batteries
  
• Personal entertainment, including books, tunes, and journal writing supplies
  
• Toiletries and personal medical supplies, dust masks
  
• Dermatone sun screen supplies
  
• Prescription and OTC drug supplies
  

  Sleeping gear by Slumberjack
  

• Everest Elite Down Range sleeping bags
  
• Everest Elite Eskimo sleeping bags
  
• Telescoping Tight Wad stuff sacks
  
• R3 Comfort Pad sleeping mats (like 80 of them!)
  
• Comfort Packer self-inflating sleeping mats
  
• 14 Quad Campers dining chairs, dining tables
  

  Base Camp Tents by Eureka!
  

• 3 Titan Luxury Family dining and communications tents
  
• 34 Scorpion Four Season sleeping tents
  
• 4 Polar Storm Expedition tents for Camps 1 and 2
  

  High Altitude Tents by
  

• 4 Expedition Wedge tents
  
• 10 Trango 3.1 Arch tents
  
  
• 2 Satellite dome tents
  
• 1 Space Station huge dome tent
  

  Miscellaneous Gear
  

• Adventure Medical Kits Expedition first aid kits
  
• White Electronics metal detector systems
  
• Gamow bag (hyperbaric chamber)
  
• 5,000 meters of PMI 7mm dynamic climbing rope
  
• Rope fiber by DuPont Industrial Yarn
  
• Pickets and shovels, emergency strobes, route wands
  
• 80 oxygen cylinders, plus regulators and masks
  
• Propane fuel bottles, cooking stoves and pot sets
  
• Kerosene Base Camp stoves and fuel
  
• Base Camp cooking pots and utensils
  
• Solar power panels, 12 volt batteries, converters, inverters
  
• Satellite communications systems
  
• VHF radio base stations and antennas, handheld radios
  
• 40 4.5 volt headlamp batteries, 300 Lithium AA batteries
  
• Duct tape, strapping tape, contact cement, Krazy glue, Ripstop K-Tape
  
• Cascade Designs Platypus water systems
  
• Plastic coated tarps, 3000 ft. para-cord
  
• Latrine seat and platform, shower curtain and bucket
  
• Flag pole with Nepal, China, U.S., and British flags
  
• Expedition and Sponsor banners and summit flags
  

  The Epic Grocery Store Run:
  High Altitude Food From The US
  

• 100 Lipton 2-person Rice Mix Instant Dinners
  
• 200 MRE meals, assorted nice flavors
  
• 240 2-person Natural High entree dinners, assorted nice flavors
  
• Power Bars and pockets full of the following snacks:

  Lower Camp Chow And Snacks
  About $4,000 worth of salami, jerkey, sausage, pretzels, candy bars, cereal, granola, pop tarts, Red Vines, chips, salsa, crackers, mixed nuts, raisins, hard candy, cookies, maple syrup, pancake mix, tons of cough drops, hot chocolate mix, coffee, creamer, tea, antacids, gummy worms, cheese spread, powdered drink mix, dried fruit, smoked clams, sardines, deviled ham, paperback books and magazines, SPAM, squeeze margarine, cheese, mustard, ketsup, mayo, spaghetti sauce and pasta, tobasco sauce, soup mix.

  Also, a lot of fresh and staple food will be purchased by the Sherpa cooks in Kathmandu, including cheese, eggs, vegetables, meats, condiments, spices, oils, flour, baking soda, lentils, rice, potatos. They'll also buy Puja supplies, which include rice meal, juniper, prayer flags, and assorted celebratory beverages.

The Everest Gear Lexicon

Crampons
Racks of steel alloy spikes that attach to mountaineering boots and provide secure footing in icy conditions. On Everest, climbers routinely wear crampons from the ice fall to the summit. Modern step-in crampon bindings attach much more easily to plastic mountaineering boots, saving the climber from the torture of fumbling with crampon straps with frozen fingers.

Ice Ax
Basic ice tool with three business ends — adze, pick, and ferrule — for safer travel through snow and ice. Since the South Col route on Everest is not technical, the standard 70-cm or so ice ax works well. There is no need for more technical ice-climbing tools like those used on waterfalls.

Fixed Rope
A safety line rigged from an anchor and left in place to facilitate progress up the mountain or during descent. Fixed lines usually are rigged from 9 mm or smaller perlon climbing rope, or cordage even lighter than that: polypropylene, water-ski rope has been used for this application. The idea is to take a large spool of strong and durable but lightweight rope to a convenient place, and attach the highest end to a secure anchor, such as multiple snow pickets or rock pitons (see below). Climbers can then ascend the rope using a jumar (see below) or descend the rope using a belay device, allowing up and down movement even in bad weather. Frayed fixed ropes can be a lethal danger, as was demonstrated in the 70's when American climbing legend John Harlin was killed while jumaring fixed ropes on the Eiger Direct route while he and Scottish climber Dougal Haston attempted the route's first ascent.

Jumar
General term derived from the French-made Jumar Ascender but now applied generically to include all rope-ascending devices, including Petzl, Clog, Gibb etc. Any of these ascenders uses a pivoting cam which deploys against the rope, enabling the device to move up but not down. This is very useful when climbing fixed ropes, as the tired high altitude climber merely moves the jumar up the fixed line with each step as he or she climbs higher, providing not just a safety belay that prevents the climber from falling, but also allowing the climber to lean back against the fixed rope and rest. As the late Scott Fischer once said, "People don't realize that the mountain only has to be climbed by the first guy, 'cause after that you're just juggin' ropes."

Plastic Boots
For the past 15 years, ski-boot technology has been applied to mountaineering boots, resulting in footwear that keeps climbers' feet warm and dry in even extreme conditions. The proliferation of double plastic boots-made by such companies as Koflach, Lowa, Scarpa, Asolo and others — has greatly reduced the risk of frostbite like that suffered on such early Himalayan climbs like the French expedition to Annapurna in 1950.

None, however, have performed like ABC's Everest Boots. Last year, Beck Weathers, and this year, Hugo Rogriguez, both spent an emergency night on upper Everest without bivy gear, and neither suffered frostbite on their feet. Both were wearing ABC's Everest boots.

Piton
Metal alloy spike of varying sizes that can be driven into cracks in rock. Rock hardware is sometimes used for attaching fixed ropes on Everest's South Col route, but not for protecting lead climbers as is the case on more technical rock climbs.

Deadman
Shovel-blade-shaped section of aluminum (with a length of cable for clipping carabiners) that can be used to protect climbers on steep snow slopes.

Picket
Length of aluminum or other light-weight metal T-bar that is driven into the snow and used as an anchor for fixed ropes or to otherwise protect climbers.

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