From the Archives: a wild camp and a mountain 21 years ago and the gear I used

The camp in Coire an Iubhair

In response to the photo at the start of my recent post  about stove systems I was asked by Chris Sainty about the boots I was wearing. As I had no idea, the picture being 21 years old, and many boots having been tested since then, I searched through my files and discovered I'd written a trip report and gear review for this January 2005 trip for The Great Outdoors. So in case anyone is interested here it is.

The boots that attracted attention

Apart from the first ever Jetboil stove, which is why the photo appeared on the stove systems piece, I think the most interesting gear I was testing was a trekking pole tent from Mountain Equipment. There are many tents like that on the market now. 

                                                               Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour

Trip Kit Report 

Garbh Bheinn

Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour is one of the great neglected Highland hills. Many will have looked west to its dramatic dark ragged pyramid from Glencoe and Ballachulish but far fewer take the Corran ferry across Loch Linnhe and set foot on its rough slopes, even though it’s one of the finest hills in the West Highlands. The reason is simple. Garbh Bheinn misses Munro status by just 30 metres; enough to explain why it’s disregarded by most hillwalkers.

I last headed to Garbh Bheinn early last year. As often on short deep winter trips with brief daylight hours I planned on setting up a wild camp below the hill one afternoon, climbing the peak the next day then walking out that evening.

The forecast was for cloudy weather with temperatures around zero at night in the glens and perhaps a little snow high up with light to moderate winds. The weather had been cold for several days and I knew there was snow and ice high up. As always I had test gear with me – pack, tent, sleeping bag, stove, boots, soft shell jacket, down jacket, waterproof jacket, gloves, headlamp - chosen because it seemed suited to the likely conditions. My gear was also selected with long winter nights in mind, when I like to have enough warm clothing that I don’t have to lie cocooned in my sleeping bag all the time plus a gas or candle lantern for a little warmth and to light up the tent porch.

Misty on the ascent

My camp was in Coire an Iubhair, a fine curving corrie between steep mountain slopes. From here I climbed up the steep rocky side of the long ridge of Sron a’ Gharbh Choire Bhig and then to the summit of Garbh Bheinn. It was a very rough ascent. Low down the ground was frozen in places though soft in others and there were patches of ice. Above 450 metres everything was frozen with increasing snow cover as I climbed. Mostly this snow was quite thin but there were some deep drifts and I went thigh deep into one. In places the snow was packed hard by the wind and I had to kick steps. Otherwise thin ice glazing on rocks, frozen icy turf, burns frozen into slippery bobbles of ice and skims of snow hiding sheets of ice meant constant care was needed. Slipping was easy; staying upright a little harder. There were many small crags and big boulders that might make interesting scrambles in summer. Alone on a cold January day they seemed best avoided so I wound a way up shallow gullies and between the rocky outcrops into the cloud swirling round the summit. The SW wind was cold and the temperature on top -1C. I had intended descending the north ridge to the head of Coire an Iubhair but this is steeper and rockier than the ascent route so, given the mist and the ice, I decided it was prudent to return the same way.

Pack

The pack

Although I was only out for one night and so didn’t have much food, winter clothing, a warm sleeping bag and ice axe and crampons pushed the weight up to 20 kilos. The load was quite bulky too but it all went easily into an Osprey Crescent 70 pack. This was the first time I had used this model and before I had the hipbelt customised, a worthwhile option with Crescent packs. The pack easily held all the gear and was comfortable during the walk-in along a rough rocky path. It also worked well as a daysack on the climb of Garbh Bheinn. The straps linking the scalloped panels on the front can be pulled right across the pack and connected to buckles on the sides so the pack can be closed down around a small load, preventing it from shifting about and keeping it stable. The harness is far too substantial for a daysack but it did make for a very comfortable carry. The weight of 3 kilos is ridiculous for a day sack too but acceptable for winter backpacking.

Tent

In camp

The Mountain Equipment Helium AR tent isn’t designed for winter camping but as it was just for one night and there was no forecast for strong winds or heavy snow and I wanted to try this new model I took it with me. There was no more than a gentle breeze in the corrie and I was able to sit with the door open and the stove outside without getting too cold, only closing the tent up when I went to sleep. The wind strengthened early in the night and the flysheet rattled a fair bit, though this didn’t stop me sleeping. The temperature fell to zero overnight, the breeze dropped and there was a little condensation on the inside of the flysheet come dawn but not enough to cause problems. I wouldn’t recommend the Helium AR for winter – it’s not big or stable enough and the porches aren’t roomy enough – except for one nighters like this in good weather but it was nice to have a tent that only weighed 1.35kg and that packed small and was easy to pitch with trekking poles.

Sleeping Bag & Mat

Camp’s Arctic 600 down sleeping bag has a comfort rating of -5 to -11 so I wasn’t surprised to be perfectly warm in it at zero degrees with the bag fully zipped up and my head inside the snug hood. At 1350 grams it’s a reasonable weight for a winter bag. My sleep mat was only just warm enough however and I could feel the cold through it if I put much pressure anywhere. It was an Insulmat Maxlite; a full length shaped mat weighing 595 grams with a cored foam inner. Outside of winter it’s fine but I won’t use it when the ground is likely to be frozen again unless I carry a closed cell foam pad as well (which I often do in winter).

Kitchen

Wanting to see how it performed in the cold I used a Jetboil stove with a part-used Coleman cartridge. It was slower than in warm weather but still boiled half litres of water within six minutes and performed better than most gas stoves would at zero degrees, due, I think, to the built-in heat exchanger and the pot cosy. The cosy made the pot comfortable to hold too and helped keep the contents warm. I also had a foil windscreen, insulated plastic mug, 2 spoons (by accident, I thought I’d only packed one – still, I doubt the few grams extra weight made much difference), Swedish FireSteel, two 2.5 litre Platypus water bottles and a half litre Zojirushi Tuffslim Compact vacuum flask weighing 325 grams (yes, I know I could have carried the stove up the hill but I find it easier to use a flask, especially in bad weather when I don’t want to stop and boil water).

Lighting

Another winter luxury was a gas lantern, a little Primus model weighing 200 grams that I’ve had for years. It gives out a bit of warmth and a soft, friendly light for reading, studying the map and journal writing. If I was buying a lantern today I’d go for the 124 gram Primus Micron, which has a steel mesh globe instead of a fragile glass one like my current model. I also carried a 105 gram Princeton Tec Eos headlamp, which has three brightness settings. The lowest one proved fine for pitching the tent in the dark. 

Boots, Socks & Gaiters

Knowing I might need to use crampons I wore fairly stiff Aku Utah Lite leather boots. These were fine on the steep rocky ground and excellent for kicking steps up snow slopes. They were a little stiff for walking on more level terrain but overall are a good boot for the winter hills if no technical climbing is involved. They have a Gore-Tex lining but the temperatures were cold enough that my feet didn’t feel hot. I wouldn’t wear boots this heavy (1786 grams for a size 9) in warm weather anyway. My socks were Smartwool Hikers made from merino wool, which kept my feet warm and comfortable. To keep mud and snow out of the boots I had Mountain Hardwear Ventigaiters, which I like because they have ventilation zips. I never wore these however and only got a little snow in my boots.

Clothing

On the summit

My base layer was a Smartwool merino wool Lightweight Zip-T, which was warm and comfortable and only became slightly damp where it was in contact with the pack. I also carried Smartwool Lightweight Bottoms but I never wore these. My trousers were Paramo Cascadas, which were breathable, windproof and warm. I find Paramo trousers so comfortable that they are my main legwear on the hills between October and May, which means I don’t need to carry overtrousers. 

During the initial climb I only wore the Zip-T on my top half, with the neck zip undone, and I unzipped the side zips on the trousers, as there was no wind and the terrain was steep enough that I was soon getting quite hot. However once I reached the ridge of Sron a’ Gharbh Choire Bhig I met the south-west wind and instantly felt cold so I put on a Mountain Equipment G2 Guide jacket, made from Gore N2S/Windstopper soft shell fabric, Outdoor Designs Bora gloves made from Polartec Wind Pro, which were excellent, and my old trusty Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap in fleece lined Triplepoint Ceramic. This outfit kept me warm to the summit. The G2 Guide jacket was a bit damp inside by the time I reached the top – subsequent trips have shown that it’s not breathable enough for me in temperatures much above freezing despite the underarm zips and venting chest pockets. The G2 Guide weighs a hefty 715 grams and is quite bulky to pack. It’s not that warm when stationary either so on the windswept summit I donned a 380 gram PHD Minimus down jacket over it while I had a hot drink and a snack and took some photographs. The Minimus was lovely and toasty, especially with the hood pulled up over the Mountain Cap and the G2 Guide hood. If the forecast had been for rain I’d have taken a synthetic filled garment but as wetness seemed unlikely I preferred the greater warmth and lower weight and bulk of down.

The one garment I didn’t wear was a Mountain Equipment Matrix Gore-Tex XCR/Paclite jacket, taken in case of rain or wet snow. Because I had the G2 Guide I didn’t feel I needed a heavier jacket as I was sure that the Guide combined with the Matrix would have coped with the worst weather. However I would rather have had something more breathable, lighter in weight and a touch warmer than the G2 Guide.

In winter I always carry spare hats and gloves so as well as the Mountain Cap I had an Outdoor Designs Windiush hat made from Polartec Wind Pro fleece, which I like because the fleece is wind resistant and it has ear flaps and a neck cord and which I wore in camp, a stretchy Buff, a pair of Mountain Equipment Guide gloves, which are wind and waterproof and have fleece linings, and a pair of polypro liner gloves.

Ice Axe and Crampons

My ice axe was a Grivel Air Tech Racing axe, which is very light at 450 grams in the 66cm length I use, yet which has a steel head. I used this for most of the ascent and descent, where it helped me stay upright when I slipped, though there were few places where a slide would have taken me more than a few metres. I never put on the Grivel G10 crampons I was carrying as there wasn’t quite enough ice, though I did consider it occasionally and was glad I had them with me.

Odds and Sods

A pair of Brasher Countrymaster trekking poles (now called Mono-Cork) were useful for the walking in and out of the corrie and essential for holding the tent up. Because I knew I would be climbing Garbh Bheinn without tent or sleeping bag I carried a Rab Survival Zone bivvy bag and a Terra Nova Bothy 2 in case I needed emergency shelter. I had a map and compass of course (OS 1:50,000 Sheet 40 and Silva 7NL) plus a Suunto Altimax altimeter watch. To measure temperature and wind speed I carried a Silva ADC Pro weather data instrument.

Photo note: my camera was a Canon EOS 300D with 18-55mm lens, my first DSLR. It was only 6 megapixels but the images look fine processed in current software (Lightroom & DXO PhotoLab). Due to the weather conditions I didn't take many pictures. Also, I wasn't yet used to digital cameras and still thought in film terms of not wasting shots that probably wouldn't be any good. I wish I'd taken more pictures!