The updated traditional alpine mountaineering Ten Essentials

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THE TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS
Hikers, backpackers, peak baggers, alpine climbers, backcountry skiers, snowshoers,
snowmobilers, horsemen, hunters and more

The Mountaineers was organized as a Club in Seattle in 1906 to meet the needs of men and women in the Pacific Northwest who hiked and climbed in the North Cascades. Their standard text for these activities is Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, now in its 7th edition. The Mountaineers became active in introducing people to the Wilderness and they began offering their annual Climbing Courses in the 1930s. It was soon determined that each participant in their activities must have certain essential equipment. This equipment became known as The Ten Essentials. It is now known as The TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS.

As a teaching aid in Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills original “Ten Essentials” were listed as follows:
1. Maps of the area; 2. Declination adjusted compass; 3. Flashlight, extra batteries/bulb; 4. Extra food and water; 5. Extra clothing; 6. Sunglasses and sun screen; 7. First aid kit; 8. Pocket knife; 9. Waterproof matches; 10. Fire starter. Across the nation, over the years, hikers, backpackers, climbing club and outdoor program participants, by the countless thousands have memorized this list. The traditional Ten Essentials have been listed and discussed in countless books and magazine articles.

What it all comes down to is that all members of an outing’s group must be individually prepared for the inevitable unexpected situations. The pooling of this individual equipment such as a foot square insulating "shorty pad" or extra insulation clothing may help save the life of a member of the group.

1. Navigation
Added to the obligatory $7.00 topo map of the area and the $30.00 Suunto M3 base plate compass must be the ability to use them. This requires training, study, and practice. Navigating with a map alone is also a necessary skill. Attach a really loud whistle to your compass lanyard. Almost everyone will add an accurate $100.00 Garmin eTrex H GPS receiver. Learn to use map, compass and GPS together.

2. Sun Protection
Sun glasses and a sunscreen are an obvious addition to a pack. Sun protection should come from SPF 35 sun screen lotion, dark glasses suitable for altitude and reflective snow fields, and long sleeves, gloves and hat rated for strong sun. Have a sun skirt on the hat or wear a bandana under the hat and over your neck and ears.

3. Insulation (extra clothing)
This brings us to extra clothing - the most essential of the list. In Central Oregon, the weather can change in a very short time, leaving people shivering in shorts and vulnerable to rain, sweat and wind induced hypothermia. Hiking fast may keep your body heat up, until you "bonk" or "run out of gas" (glycogen), or have to hike slow with others, go slow to find your way or have to stop and tend an injured companion or stranger. The extra clothing must be carried in your pack, ready to be put on when you stop for a few minutes or several hours.

Cotton clothing, soaked in sweat, rain or melted snow, holds water and may loose up to 70% of its insulating value. Cotton clothing has caused the death of many people. Today’s layers of polypropylene, pile and Gortex are equivalent to the wool underwear, pants, shirts, sweaters and coated nylon jackets of the 1970s and before. Polypro, pile, thick synthetic insulation and Gortex had not been invented when Everest was first summited. However, the earliest climbers used layers 1. to wick body moisture, 2. to adjust insulation and 3. to cut off wind and rain. Remember, layers must be “pealed” to avoid sweat soaked clothes! All of this essential seasonal personal clothing and equipment must be accommodated in a light day/summit pack just large enough to hold it. Garments tied to the outside are likely to catch on something or get wet or lost. A larger day/summit/back pack is needed for the light but more bulky wool, pile, or down insulation layers needed in the winter.

4. Illumination
A small flashlight can assist in finding a lost or injured person. Many hiking groups have returned to the trailhead after dark. Headlamps now weigh in at 3 ounces! Extra batteries can be shared with your GPS.

5. First-Aid Supplies
Individual first aid supplies sized to the trip are a must. And don't forget the toilet paper! First aid supplies can fit in a Ziploc bag and should deal with cuts and scrapes with small and large Band-Aids, Neosporin and mole skin. In June and July, add mosquito repellent for the woods. Have OTC drugs and a personal prescription pain medication for that broken ankle. Shoot for about 4 ounces for day hikes in the hills. Take a two day Wilderness First Aid class from the Wilderness Medicine Institute of the National Outdoor Leadership School. Put together your own individual and group first aid supplies listed on this website.

6. Fire
Waterproof matches and a fire starter can be combined in a couple of adjustable propane pocket lighters. Remember, when you most need a fire, it will be windy, wet and cold. Do not depend on being able to start a fire. Learn how to stay warm without a fire. Don't try to be a "survivalist".

7. Repair Kit and Tools
A small knife should be light and sharp - a tool kit knife is heavy and of little use. Carry light special tools for your skis, snowshoes or snowmobile. I carry the smallest Swiss Army knife and six feet of fresh duct tape.

8. Nutrition (extra food)
Extra food should be carbohydrates in the form of easily digested quick acting fat-free fig newtons, jelly filled breakfast bars or ClifBars that offer a bit of protein added to aid utilization. Glycogen (sugar or starch) is the one essential fuel that must be replaced during a hard hike or climb or an unexpected cold wet night under a tree - most people have ample stores of the other essential muscle fuel: fat.

9. Hydration (extra water)
Add extra water or the equipment to obtain it (stove for snow or a filter for summer), to your list. In the summer you may need to drink a gallon or more per day. In the winter you may be able to get by with three quarts if you are careful not to sweat. Use electrolyte replacement powder such as Gookinaid or Gatorade. Remember that only two quarts of water weigh almost four pounds. Use Nalgene or Platypus plastic bags that weigh one ounce per quart, not Nalgene bottles weighing 6 ounces each! I am not a fan of musty bladders, but they are popular at this time.

10. Emergency Shelter
Emergency shelter can range from a 10oz. Emergency Bivy Sack sold by Adventure Medical Kits for about $30. to a four season Gore-Tex $200. bivy bag and 20 degree sleeping bag.

You can not shelter in snow without an insulating pad such as the Cascade Designs RidgeRest three-quarter length, 9 ounce ensolite foam pad, strapped to the side of your day or summit pack.

Carry a light plastic snow shovel and know how to build a real snow cave designed to trap warm air with thick insulating snow with the entrance below the pad covered living area.

(11). Communication
Carry your common digital cell phone, turned on, in contact with the cell towers.
Several cell phones in a group are far better than one. Phone rescuers on your cell phone with your exact UTM (NAD 27) GPS coordinates, your current condition and proposed plans. Mobile phone Providers, can find your general location, triangulated from cell phone ping records or from a GPS chip in some new phones.

Another option for some is to carry a $150 SPOT Satellite Messenger which can give your friends or 911 your exact GPS location. Oregon SAR Statutes require you carry a means of communication such as a cell phone.
Copyright© 1995-2008 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

YOUR LITE AND FAST BACKPACK
Which light backpack do you use for winter and summer?    Analysis   pdf
What would you carry in your backpack to climb Shasta or Adams?
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
Photos of lite gear packed for a multi day approach to spring and summer summits
Backpack lite gear list for spring and summer alpine mountaineering    4 pdf pages

ESSENTIAL PERSONAL GEAR
What does Steve House wear for light and fast climbing?
What clothing do you wear for Light and Fast winter mountaineering?
What do you carry in your winter day pack? Photos?
Which digital camera do you use in the mountains?
What about Boots and Shoes?

About Alpine Mountaineering:
The Sport of Alpine Mountaineering
Climbing Together
Following the Leader
The Mountaineers' Rope
Basic Responsibilities Cuatro Responsabiliades Basicas de Quienes Salen al Campo
The Ten Essentials Los Diez Sistemas Esenciales

Our Leader's Guidelines:
Our Volunteer Leader Guidelines
Sign-in Agreements, Waivers and Prospectus     This pdf form will need to be signed by you at the trail head
Sample Prospectus    Make sure every leader tells you what the group is going to do; print a copy for your "responsible person"
Participant Information Form    This pdf form can be printed and mailed or handed to the Leader if requested or required
Emergency and Incident Report Form    Copy and print this form. Carry two copies with your Essentials
Participant and Group First Aid Kit    Print this form. Make up your own first aid essentials (kits)

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can in part, be mitigated

This is the best basic to advanced
book on mountaineering!
click the image!

THE TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS Hikers, backpackers, peak baggers, alpine climbers, backcountry skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers, horsemen, hunters and more

THE TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS
Hikers, backpackers, peak baggers, alpine climbers, backcountry skiers, snowshoers,
snowmobilers, horsemen, hunters and more