Presidential Traverse
Sleeping System & Miscellaneous equipment


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Introduction
Gear Selection
The Cooking System
The Clothing System
The Food System
The Route
The Whiteout Navigation Plan
The Escape Routes
Camping
Emergency Strategies

For the purposes of this article the sleeping system will include the tent, sleeping bag and pads. The sleeping bags we use are down bags made with a water resistant breathable fabric. Some may suggest that due to the wet climate that we have in the Northeast that a synthetic bag might be better. That may be true if we were to stay out more than 2 or 3 nights, but because most Northeastern trips are no longer than that, down bags have more advantages than disadvantages. We like to use bags rated to -15°F.

For sleeping pads we use the combination of a Crazy Creek Chair along with a 3/4 length by 3/8-inch Ultralight Thermarest pad. We use both of these pads under our torso. Under our lower legs and feet we place our Gore-tex suit, the inner boots from our plastic mountaineering boots and sometimes our pack. You might think that the chair is pretty heavy for a lightweight system. We feel that the comfort the chair gives us while cooking and eating is worth the weight. The longer we can cook and eat the better off we are in the long run. The one downside of cooking in the tent is it's a bit cramped, the chair alleviates that.

Usually we will sleep with our long underwear and a hat on. The pile jacket, down jacket extra hat etc are used as a pillow. Anything still damp (usually gloves) goes into a stuff sack and are placed inside the sleeping bag. Liner socks are taken off and wool socks are kept on to sleep in. The liner socks go into the bag but not in a stuff sack.

For the tent we use the single wall Bibler tents. Although there can be problems with these tents and they are expensive, we find that for the most part the weight savings are worth it. The biggest problem we encounter with them is when there is high humidity. When this happens cooking causes condensation inside the tent, which freezes to the fabric. Although the tent stays snug and comfortable during the night, the tent is very difficult to pack the next morning.

Miscellaneous equipment

There are a couple of pieces of gear we have not talked about, the pack, and snowshoes are places where the right equipment will save you weight and can be critical to the success of the traverse.

One place people forget to save weight is the pack. We tend to go with very simple packs that seldom exceed 3 1/2 pounds. Packs like the Wild Things Andinista or the Cold Cold World Chaos are our favorites. These simple packs have only a foam pad in the back as a frame and only simple padded waist belts. Their lashing systems are simple and functional so snowshoes, crampons, ice axe and adjustable ski poles all go on and off easily.

Snowshoes are also another place to save weight. Although they are crucial they need to be as small as possible and lightweight. The smaller Sherpa snowshoes or the MSR shoes are examples of small light shoes. Beware of the new running type of shoes, although they are small and light the binding may not fit a plastic mountaineering boot.

© Chauvin Guides International, P.O. Box 2151, North Conway, NH 03860 Voice: 603-356-8919