I owe my life to...

Reading recent threads regarding useful and enjoyable gear and in light of the recently lost climbers, I was thinking about equipment I have relied heavily upon.

Besides the obvious gear like a climbing harness, I would like to hear about gear or techniques that have WORKED for you in the past. I've carried a turkey basting bag in the desert to still water from plants but I would not list it because I have yet to use it.

I'll start the ball rolling by remembering a few jackets like the Patagonia Houdini. I've gone through about 3 light windproof and basically waterproof jackets that have rescued me.

I've gone light and then needed an insulating layer. Also, I've been suprised by a shower and needed to shed the water.

Every time, a light jacket has been there. I recently retired a GoLite (forget the model) and picked up a Houdini.

Parachute cord - I carry 50' of the stuff - it hangs my bear bag - I've used it to haul a bag up/down cliffs I could manage unladen but which would have been fairly tough (5.7 by my guestimate) with a backpack on. I've used it to set up a shelter - it's replaced shoelaces and has helped to turn a poncho into more of a jacket on hike that started out sunny but ended up cold and wet.
Knowledge - when the chips are down - knowing how to make a shelter, what plants you can eat, how to navigate with or without a compass, how to find water, how to read a map and how to get a fire going in various weather situations are all potential life savers. I suppose knowing how to dig a snow cave is one that really saved my life - it'll be 31 years this March, in fact.

This one was hard for me to answer, probably because the gear that works and works well doesn’t necessarily draw attention to it. Also, I haven’t had any near-death experiences that I know of (knock on wood). But here is some gear I’ve relied heavily on (I didn’t include the obvious stuff like climbing ropes, harnesses, and helmets):

A water filter is pretty high on my list for saving your health. I’ve had giardia. It’s no fun. Always filter or boil water.

Trekking poles to keep me balanced and upright when crossing streams or rivers and saving my knees over the long haul.

A Columbia Omni-Therm fleece pullover shirt that I’ve been wearing year-round for six and a half years now. It’s not fancy, but with proper layering it has always worked for me from winter to summer and always goes in my pack or on me. It’s still going strong, but I finally bought a TNF Aurora Zip Neck fleece last year just so I could wear something else occasionally. I keep wearing the Columbia fleece though. I guess I shouldn’t mess with what works.

Sunglasses for all of the obvious reasons. I never go out without them.

LL Bean leather Gore-Tex Cresta Hikers. I’m on my second pair now over the past decade. They’re sturdy and comfortable out of the box (as advertised) and I’ve never regretted having them on my feet for backpacking or long, rough day hikes. They’re the best boots I’ve ever worn.

In winter, I’d say extra pairs of warm, dry gloves and socks. I may owe some fingers and toes to those, especially the gloves.

Finally, I’ve got to agree with Steve’s answer of knowledge. It’s important to carry the right gear, but it’s more important to know how to use that gear and make good decisions.

Alicia, I'd be willing to bet that you gained a lot of your knowledge the same way I did - shivering in a tent wet and cold or packing out hungry after a disaster or two befell your food supply (in my case it was failure to use a bear bag). That's a hard way to gain knowledge, but a sure fire way to ensure that the lessons stick with ya!

Funny thing, from my involvement in Scouts I know that it's darned near impossible to impart knowledge like that to most folks, they just need to learn for themselves!

If we're going down the boot path, Danner Mountain Lites (and ML2's) are my boot of choice. I'm not a trekking pole convert - but given the way my knees felt after a rather long New Years day day hike - well - I might be almost ready to give them a shot - but still no carbide tips for me!

Steve

Steve, I agree that what you learn from personal experience sticks with you. Sometimes it’s a dramatic lesson (like your example of losing your food to a bear). Often it’s an accumulation of learning what works for you (how much food and water you need; how do you keep your socks and gloves dry; how far away really is that lake on the map) because you have to deal with the repercussions of your actions. Most of us try not to make the same mistakes twice (making room for new mistakes, perhaps).

I’ve taken first aid courses a number of times, but the most useful one I ever took was a three-day wilderness first aid course that had us backpack into a campsite, rather than stay at the AMC lodge. Role-playing responses to emergency situations in the woods, where you’d actually have to use your skills, was much more realistic and stuck with me longer than if I’d sat in a lodge learning the same info.

I still think there are some very useful books hikers and mountaineers should reference (like “Freedom of the Hills”), but their information is most valuable when backed up by some sort of experience using that information.

Sorry, for going a bit off Dan’s topic. After thinking more about his original question of what “I owe my life to...” I have to choose my head. I know it gets said over and over, but I think it’s true. I’ve since thought of two instances (one canoeing in white water and one glissading) where keeping my presence of mind got me out of a bad situation fully intact (I can’t say the same for the canoe).

Alica

I think you're ON the original topic - spot on. It seems that in 2007 you can walk into a mountain shop and fill your pack with gear that will seemingly get you through anything. Back in the dark days when I started backpacking and climbing (dirt and fire had been invented, but that was about it) you couldn't do that.

I guess my point is that what you carry really doesn't matter a darn if you don't know how to use it AND if you don't have the base of knolwedge (accumulated over years, in most cases, or past down by mentors, even if you didn't KNOW they were mentors at the time) that gives you the confidence to remain calm and think your way through a situation.

Some things are beyond your control - when you're falling from 120' up and the nut you placed 55' off the ground fails - well - you're hitting the deck. But I've run into people in bad situations (burns, a broken arm) and they're searching through their packs - like they put a burn kit or splint in there and just forgot about it. When you cover their burns with a damp "T" shirt or splint their arm with a couple tent poles and some duct tape they look at you like you're a God or something. Improv never crossed their minds.

So I guess I owe my life (many times over) to those who took the time to help me stay alive while I messed up and learned. To the people who looked at the tie in to my harness and said "um, dude, that just dosen't look right" or suggested "you know, if you keep your socks in a plastic bag they'll be dry at night" -

The knowledge is in MY head - but that's not the point of origin.

Rambled enough -

Steve

Baby wipes.

I couldn't walk straight without them.

Ed, you’re not alone about the baby wipes.

At my first job I asked my boss about his recent rafting trip in Africa and I think he may have been as adamant about bringing baby wipes along in my travels as anything else he told me. At least that’s the lone thing I remember, whether I want to or not, from that conversation.

So, I guess that’s yet another example of learning from others!

I've had people tell me in the past to use this or that but it didn't make any sense. Just like it was mentioned before, I froze my butt off and relized that I needed layering here and there. I suppose as long as you can understand what people are telling you, learning from other is possible. Alicia, I've drank open water before many times but it took Giardia to show me the wonders of a water filter!

So, is the best gear for beginners just the right amount to get outside and not hurt themselves but still lacking to the point they will learn from their ways? I figure, go with a heavy pack and next time you will know you need a lighter one, no jacket to waterproof jacket, cotton socks to wool socks, etc...

Poles.
One time ski poles may have saved my life. Years ago a friend got me in over my head up high on a steep glacier. First time I used crampons or an ice ax. First time I had been on anything like that. He had taken off his crampons earlier and I took mine off also.

As I followed some ways behind him traversing across the top I slipped and began picking up speed. My ice ax was attached to the back of my pack where I could not reach it. Below me the glacier ended in a steep rock face.

Luckily, I had taken the straps off my poles - just in case. I turned over on my stomach, grasping just above the baskets, and dug the points into the snow. After what seemed like a long time I stopped. With extreme care I got my ice ax from my pack and secured myself.

I was able to put on my crampons and make my way back up. Getting down was scary after that but we made it and I learned a lot about what not to do.

I still use poles quite a bit.

Dan wrote:"I've drank open water before many times but it took Giardia to show me the wonders of a water filter! " - I wonder if a similar experience opened Eds eyes to the value of baby wipes!

pretty much.

It doesn't take long for a hot and sweaty hike to let you know some things need fixed asap.

Ditto Dan Roshio on the giardia!

I had successfully sipped mountain stream water early many years prior in the Wind River Range. Then with about 10 college buddies we did the same thing a few years later...only to discover the joys of giardia. It was not pleasant.

The water filter was "born" for us that day!

Scott S