Equipment to start your mountain expedition depends upon various factors such length and type of trip, physical structure of the terrain, weather condition of the area, availability of food and shelter, and remoteness of the location. The most important is type and category of your trip such as hiking or trekking with basic level or medium level of skills, climbing or mountaineering having advance and expert level of skills. Hiking in plains is entirely different as compare to rocky terrains of high-altitude mountain ranges. Availability of shelter and food is another crucial planning element, so your luggage size varies upon this condition.
Travelling in area with guide and map is entirely different to explore a remote and off-road site. The physical condition of the area such as weather, terrain structure, or altitude of the area are also important in selecting the right equipment to start your journey. You may have to carry several equipment and items depending upon the length of your trip, for example medicines and basic first-aid kit, proper cloths depending weather conditions, or equipment for self-protection.
One of the main elements that can be significant before beginning your tour is the planning. One must plan tour before time and try to arrange all of the required equipment and details about the location. Make oneself ready to adjust with the environment of that area and preparing your mind for the incoming difficulties are crucial phase before your physical adventure. Here is a list various items required for any type of mountain expedition, most of these are common for every type of trip, whereas few of them are specific to certain kind of tour. Most of the travelers in mountain area prefer ultralight backpacking having less than 4.5 Kg load.
Location Maps
Location Map is the most item to navigate in desired location and one need to study it carefully before starting the ride. Map is symbolic representation of different spatial things and properly annotated with text and graphics to represent various location and landmarks located there. Without a suitable, it becomes difficult to locate your destination. In most of cases, locals are still unable to guide about the remote sites. Detail maps of particular specific remote location may be available at the tourism societies or local tourist associations. Google map is good alternative as compare to physical map, but unfortunately internet is not normally available in most of the remote locations, as it never provides detail map of a specific location specially pedestrian trek or rough terrain treks.
Compass
Another most important navigational equipment is compass and it is used to identify the cardinal directions. It has a magnetic needle that points to magnetic north pole. It operates clockwise starting from zero degree for North, 90 degrees for East, 180 degrees for South, and 270 degrees for West. In the same way, 45 degrees between North and East is represented as North-East direction. To find the exact location, one has to set the position of needle to the North on the compass, then one will get the right directions to find the location.
Backpack
It is fabric bag carried on back with shoulder straps and bottom strap to set firmly on back using buckle. It can be used to carry heavy loads with different equipment with ease to travel long distance with less efforts. It can be used to carry maximum of 10 Kg load for hiking or trekking purposes. It can be used to attach multiple portable items such as water bottle, small pockets for hand-free, mobile charger, etc. It can be manufactured with steel frame and without frame. Bag with frame is better to carry more load, whereas bodypack without frame is ideal for less weight. Bodypack has multiple straps on shoulder, chest, and waist strap on hold firmly on body. Size of bag normally depends upon the length of trip and remoteness of location.
Water Bottle
Water bottle is an essential item in your backpack as one need to have fluid or water intake regularly while trekking. Without proper water intake, body will be dehydrated that will cause headache, tiredness, as well as many other medical complications. A metal water bottle with insulation is better to maintain the temperature of the liquid, whereas plastic bottle will be a cheap and light-weight solution.
First-aid Kit / Medical Kit
It is collection of all of required supplies and equipment for immediate medical treatment for injuries and mild medical conditions. It normally includes adhesive bandages, pain related medication, temperature gauze, diabetics and BP checking apparatus, and disinfectant. For multi-day travel in harsh weather condition and difficult trek, having medical kit is necessary.
Flashlight / Wearable Head Light
If you have planned to travel or explore in night, then flashlight or headlight is most important item in your backpack. Small size flashlight with extra battery is enough for multi-day trip. Wearable head light is effective for natural movement without having extra load in hands, easy movement in rocky terrain, or during ascending or descending a trek.
Sleeping Bag
It is an insulated portable sack for a person with lightweight quilt to spend night in outdoor such as camp or open area. It has an inner zipper to cover oneself complete to protect from external weather. It has a water-resistant covering and protects against cold wind and light rain as well as provides warmth body to maintain normal temperature. In case of multi-day trips in remote area, it is an essential equipment to spend night.
Camp / Tent
For multi-day trip in remote areas where hotels or guest houses are not available, it becomes a necessity to have a tent in your luggage Size of tent depends upon the number of persons who want to share the same camp. Tent is temporary shelter made with water-proof sheet of polyester or fabric and supported with steel or wooden sticks. For larger tent, ropes are tied with pegs to hold it firmly. Material of tent sheet depends upon the area of exploration. It must be necessary to do camping at the designed site for camping purposes, otherwise one has to sure oneself to have sufficient space for camping. In case of heavy air flow, one must find a site with a physical hinderance to control air flow.
Bivouac Sack
It is a lightweight, waterproof, and portable shelter. It can be setup easily and adjusted at any space. It is usually an extra layer over sleeping bag with extra insulation and highly resistant in rain and wind chill. It will an effective choice for trekkers in remote and unknown area without proper camping sites.
Cosmetics / Cleaning Items
During harshness of weather, difference of temperature in day and night, and heavy sun rays, your body skin will be the first to get damages or injuries. So, one has to equip oneself with necessary cosmetics such as sun-block cream, hydrated location, petroleum jelly, lip balm, etc. Hydrating your body is necessary to avoid these, but these cosmetics will protect your skin from the harsh coldness as well as protection from the sun. Wearing hat is also effective to avoid direct sun interaction. Other necessary items for cleaning purposes are soap or hand-wash and few sachets of shampoos. In multi-day trips, small toothpaste with tooth brush or mouth-wash will be necessary to protect teeth.
Mobile Charger and Power Supplies
To capture the wonderful movement of your life, cameras, mobiles, and other related electronic items must be available with battery fully charged. For this purpose, you must have a proper power bank or any type of power supplies to recharge your electronic devices as well as mobiles. One must have an active communication contact with one’s family, or other team member in base-camp, or local authorities such as disaster recovery management, police, NGOs, etc. it becomes difficult to identify your location, if all of the communication devices are discharged.
Trekking Pole / Hiking Stick
It is a common accessory that provides assistance to walk, to provide stability on slopes, and reduce strain on joints especially toes and knees on inclined and rough terrain. It can have two or three section to extend or retract it and easily portable with backpack by collapsing it. If spring section is available, it helps to avoid wrist strain. Trekking pole is necessary if trips include long rough treks with slope.
Wearables / Clothes
Based on the length and nature of tour, one has to select the number and type of dresses. In low temperature area, one must have warmth clothes, long jackets, and rain coat. Warmth legging and undergarments must be included in the list of wearables. For hot area, light cotton clothes are enough. Keep in mind to equip with tight and smart dresses, as those restrict air resistance, easy to walk with less effort, and maintain your body warm. Due to temperature difference in different area of your route and difference of day and night temperature, it had better have minimum one dress of every type. Multiple pair of socks must be required depending upon the weather conditions. Woolen gloves are enough for normal winter season without any harsh weather conditions. One must have a hat or cap to avoid sun rays and one set of warm caps is also needed in low temperature and cold wind. In case of snowfall, waterproof jacket or waterproof long coat with hoody is necessary. Rain coat can protect against rain as well as snowfall. For mountaineering purposes, one must have overall insulated and water-proof covering to avoid cold wind, severe snowfall, and temperature below zero. Warm socks and gloves are important to avoid frostbites. To protect the trouser leg while walking over heavy fresh snow or streams, one must need a pair of gaiters that may be made of leather, canvas, or polyester. It is a water-proof protective equipment to cover the pants and boots, and commonly used to keep bottom of legs dry. It also helpful to avoid insects and snakebites while walking in long grass and shallow water streams. Different type of garments and wearables are also available in the local markets, so one purchase from there to avoid extra load from the beginning.
Footwear / Shoes
Footwear or shoes are the most important item before doing any outdoor trekking or hiking activity. Type of shoes strictly depend upon the type of terrain and physical conditions of the location where one has to walk. One can select trail shoes, hiker shoes, or mountaineering shoes, depending upon the terrain structure and purpose of trekking. The quality and durability of shoes are considered important element in selecting hiking gear as one’s ability to cover long distances without injury depend on it. For long hiking purpose, boots those give ankle support will be preferred. Size of shoes must be accurate with one’s feet, otherwise hiker will observe injuries, blisters, and sore feet. Hiking boots must have deep lugged soles with tough rubber to achieve maximum friction to avoid slipping. Upper part of shoes must be water-proof, avoid excessive moisture, and to avoid dirt and debris. Inner part of shoes provides comfort and relaxation to foot, so it provides support to trekker to cover more distance without injury. For mountaineering and ice climbing purposes, boots are stiffer, taller, and insulated. Extra stiffness and height of boot provides support to climber on steep and rocky terrain. The inner of mountaineering boots provide more warmth and insulation to prevent frostbite in extreme cold.
Crampons
In case of ice climbing or walking on glaciers and snow, crampon is a device attached to footwear to provide extra grip on snow, glaciers, and icefields. It can be easily fastened to footwear by binding.
Food / Eatables
Having food while traveling also depends upon the type of tour. In case of remote tour location, where hotels and guest-houses are not available, one has to equip oneself all of required items to cook food, otherwise one canned food is the good alternative. If one can manage to cook food then it would be better choice, otherwise use local restaurants or canned food for this purpose. One must need burner or gas stove to cook food. All of the required raw food item must be purchased from the local market before begin to walk. Canned food is easy to carry due to its light weight. Canned food is normally available only from super-markets in main cities or towns. One kettle is enough to prepare tea by firing woods those can be collected easily. One water bottle must be in your backpack and sufficient quantity of water bottles must be in your luggage. Light eatables like candies, grams, biscuits, crackers, and chocolates are good to restore your energy during the walk. Depending upon your tour length, purchase more eatables as required from the next coming local markets or bazaars.
Crockery
It is necessary to have basic crockery items such as one tea cup, one plate, and a spoon. Try to maintain minimum units of crockery items in case of group tour. It would be better to disposable crockery items, but be sure to disposed of these in proper trash bins. Disposable crockery items can be available in local market in major towns. For camping or remote site visit, it would be better to have one kettle to make tea. Crockery to cook food can also be arranged if there is large number of people in group, otherwise it would be not preferred.
Rock Climbing Equipment
For the purposes of rock climbing, rope is an essential item. Special elastic robe made by nylon, also known as a dynamic rope, is constructed for rock climbing, mountaineering, or ice climbing. It gives an extra elasticity or stretches that slowly absorb the energy of a sudden load and reduce the peak force on the rope; thus, breakage of rope will be minimum. Depending upon the nature of trekking or rock climbing, one can select from single rope, double rope or twin rope. In rock climbing, bolts can be used to make permanent anchor fixed in a rock using drill to protect the climbing route. A quickdraw is an equipment used by climber to allow climbing rope to run freely while leading using bolt anchors and rope. It consists of two carabiners make of semi-rigid material. One of them, straight gate, connects with anchoring device, and other, bent gate, will move free on rope. A belay device is also an important equipment for rock climbing. It is a mechanical device used to control a rope during belaying, to grip the falling climber by applying a friction using delay device. A climbing harness is an apparatus to fit on body to allow climber to tie in with a rope for his safety. There are three types of harness, sit harness, chest harness, and sling harness. It is normally made by nylon webbing with grips on shoulders and hip. Various loops with belay loop are used to connect with the rope for climbing purpose.
Ice Climbing Equipment
For ice climbing expedition, one must have special equipment to walk on glacier, frozen water, or snow, or to climb on ice wall. Ice axe is required to ascend or descend ice- or snow-covered routes. It provides an extra strength to climb over an ice wall, or to avoid slipping while moving forward. It can be used to make an anchor with rope tied around it to descend down easily from ice wall. Ropes are necessary in ice climbing to avoid missing of group members. It also provides easy and safe way to ascend or descend. Crampons tied with boots provides firm grip on the glaciers and snow routes. These also provide firm grip while climbing over a ice wall. Ice screws are used to protect the route by hanging a rope over the screw in ice block. One gets protection in case of fall or slipping from the ice block.
Miscellaneous and Multi-Purpose Accessories
Base on type of tour and area, one has to equip oneself with knife, trowel, saw, snow shovel, snow saw, sticks, dust mark, water filter paper, face scarf, small towel, hat, warm cap, sunglasses, etc. WAG, Waist Alleviating Gel, bag, is a plastic bag used for the purpose to carry human feces out from the location where no toilets are available. In remote areas, it helps to remove human waste to trash in waste bin and also recommended to apply the Leave No Trace principle of trekking.