The Great Outdoors - on the Cheap!

(Part 1 - Intro and Planning)

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, there were a lot of hills, mountains, and trees in my childhood. I always thought of myself as a “city boy”, but after spending a year in Texas trying to avoid going outside for fear of death I realized how much I need mountains in my life. I regained a love of climbing I had had when I was younger mostly because the climbing gym in San Antonio was the closest thing to mountains I could find (and it had a pretty cool vibe too). Now that “the Covid” is here and people are losing their minds over masks and gloves and school starting back up, I just want to get away from it all - into the mountains!

Mountaineering is a broad term with many subcategories. While it was a bucket list item in middle school, my vision of my mountaineering career no longer involves Everest or any other ridiculous endeavor. I now believe that is a waste of human effort and is wildly unethical. When I say “mountaineering” I simply mean “climbing to the top of mountains”. This, in my mind, differs from hiking in that it involves snow and/or some technical climbing. In other words, you need equipment, not just some sturdy shoes and a water bottle.

Why mountaineering you may ask? Let me list the reasons this makes sense:

1. I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My house is at approximately 4764 feet in elevation (meaning I have a physiological advantage for mountaineering over someone who lives around sea level). Also, the High Sierra’s are renowned for their peaks (having 10 14ers* including Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous US). Yosemite is a mere three hours away from my house. I could go on, but you get the idea. I live near the big mountains.

2. Mountaineering involves hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, scrambling, and exploring. These are all things I love, would like to get better at, and would like to do more of.

3. Mountaineering utilizes many techniques that are unique to the sport, along with other skills that are uncommon, but that I already am familiar with. Many of the rope techniques that are used in mountaineering are more akin to rope rescue than rock climbing (for example: crevasse rescue and simul climbing). I happen to have knowledge in both of those. Not many other activities utilize my rope rescue training.

4. Perhaps most importantly of all, mountaineering (around here at least) is a Fall/Winter/Spring activity. Rock climbing is a Summer activity. Adding mountaineering to my long list of hobbies completes the seasonal cycle.

5. The gear for mountaineering includes items also used in climbing and backpacking, meaning that while it also usually requires specialized gear as well, I can begin training, planning, and climbing with only a few necessary purchases.

I don’t particularly have a ton of money to fund all my hobbies. Many of my hobbies are on the back burner due to lack of extra funds (cough…my motorcycle...cough) but climbing has been moved to the front burner and with it, mountaineering. I don’t like the idea of sitting around dreaming about mountaineering for 3-5 years while I slowly acquire the high-end equipment that many websites say are required before you even begin to climb mountains. I also know that when buying equipment that you are not entirely familiar with, you tend to buy things that you later learn were unnecessary or wrong for the application you intended the item for. I also have to work with a budget that will fit my lifestyle, current expenses, income, savings, and what will be cleared by my wife as an acceptable amount to spend for each item. That last point is key.

Alright, long intro I know, but the plan is to find mountaineering equipment that is:

1. In my budget

2. Available in a timely manner

3. The proper item for the intended use

4. High enough quality to last for a few seasons (at least).

5. Reasonably ethically produced, shipped, and sold (this is of personal importance and means I won’t be shopping at Bezos-mart or the everything emporium if at all possible)

My strategy involves research… lots of it. I know that planning and researching is what I said I didn’t want to do, but stick with me, I will show you what I mean.

To start with, I need to supplement what I already have, which is basic rock climbing stuff and camping/backpacking equipment. Since I do know my own skill and limitations, I also need to train my body. My intention is to collect the equipment I need and test it regularly by doing the bridge from normal backpacking to mountaineering - backcountry backpacking. I’ll get stronger, understand my equipment and needs, test out my skills, and summit a few lower mountains. As I get more technical gear, the short expeditions will become more technical. Thus, I am getting better while my kit is getting better. I’ll show what equipment I buy, track the cost, and give recommendations as they come over the next few parts of this project.

I plan to purchase this equipment around one new item a month (which will help spread the cost and also help me avoid financial fights with my wife). To avoid another list, here’s a spreadsheet of what major items I have now (and the approximate cost of those items), and what I plan to purchase in the future. The first four items on the “need/want” side are in order of how I plan to purchase them. The rest is in no particular order.

My first trip is a backcountry overnighter (see blog for trip report). I have a one-person pop tent with a mosquito net shell and will be trying out a tarp tent. Tarps can be found for $10 or so at hardware stores, though if this trip goes well and I like the tarp experience, I may invest in a camping tarp (around $50-100). Tarps have been used for decades for camping (and living in many countries), are inexpensive, pack up small, and are extremely versatile. I also bought a pair of inexpensive trekking poles for $20. I frequently see trekking poles on sale for under $30 at places like REI, Backcountry.com, and on used gear sites. They can get expensive, but there’s not much to them, so any pair that does the job is fine. So, we’ll say that, with the exception of food, this backcountry backpacking trip will cost me $30.

An overnighter is a great way to fit a trip into a busy work schedule, especially when there is more than one person’s work schedule you have to work around. Overnighters are also much easier to manage planning/logistics-wise than multi-day trips. For this reason, I’m probably going to stick with day trips and overnight trips until next Summer. I also plan to test the tent camping and possibly snow camping (depending on the weather) in my backyard. If there’s anything I’ve learned from search and rescue it’s that confidence and understanding of your gear is more important than the the price-tag and manufacturer.

Follow along as I collect new gear, try it out, and give feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Also, check out my trip reports for more exciting reading.

* A “14er” is a mountain peak with at least a 300 foot prominence from the surrounding land and an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. There are 96 in the United States.