Peak Climbing Equipment Checklist

Technical Climbing Equimpents:

  • Alpine Climbing Harness
  • Crampons
  • Ice axe
  • Ascender
  • Multi-LED Head Lamp
  • Trekking poles: Very handy for the approach; adjustable types are the best (preferably with a simple outside locking mechanism)
  • Slings: One 3m(10ft) and three 2m(6ft)
  • Prusik loops: Never hurts to carry a few (e.g. 0.6m and 1.2m), they come in handy in many situations
  • Climbing helmet: Climbing helmet is essential safety gear for crossing areas under rocks and ice cliffs; light weight is essential.
  • Karabiners: Minimum 2 locking carabineers, 1 large and 1 small and 4 regular.
  • Rappel device: Figure 8, ACT or similar; be familiar with Munter Hitch as it may safe your life if you loose your Rappel device and you will at some stage
  • Ski poles: Very handy for the approach; adjustable types are the best and are recommended type
  • Slings: One 3m (10ft) and three 2m (6ft).
  • Masks, hoses, and regulators: Good quality for your safety.
  • Altimeter :
  • Climbing helmet: Climbing helmet is essential safety gear for crossing areas under rocks and ice cliffs; light weight is an essential feature

Physical Fitness Requirements

If you want to climb Everest, you're going to have to be in extremely good physical shape. Basic fitness training should start well in advance, at the minimum of 12 month with main emphasis on cardiovascular training, assuming you are an amateur athlete and you are fit for strenuous athletic exercises. The main reason for your cardiovascular training is to increase your heart-lung oxygen capacity, so you can deliver sufficient amount of oxygen to your muscular and brain tissue in extremely low partial oxygen pressure. Acclimatization to high altitude is both a function of cardiovascular capacity as well as your personal physiology adaptation capacity, which you will only find out, when you above 8000m. Small percentage of people no matter how fit they are at sea level will not be able to adapt to high altitude, generally however the fitter you are the better your body will be able to cope with the altitude.

Altitude Hazards and Complications

The primary concern of mountaineers as altitude increases is the partial oxygen pressure decrease. There is a fine balance of pressure between your internal oxygen pressure in your lungs and the outside world, which allows your lungs to absorb the oxygen and deliver it to your blood stream, it is called partial oxygen pressure. With the altitude the outside pressure drops, while the internal pressure remains constant and at about 9000m you will not be able to absorb any oxygen at all with predictable outcome despite the amount of oxygen in the air is the same. Our system has evolved at the sea level, where it functions perfectly and it doesn’t at high elevation. The human body has however phenomenal ability to adapt given appropriate conditioning and time, it is called acclimatization.

Low levels of oxygen in the blood can cause number of conditions such as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), which is easily treatable and reversible condition but it can lead to more serious conditions such as High Altitude Celebral Edeme (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). Low level of blood oxygen can lead to the body thermal inefficiencies causing frostbites and hypothermia.

Other condition caused by the effects of high altitude is thrombosis or embolism.

At high elevation due to lower UV absorption by the atmosphere and reflections from the snow there is high risk of sunburn.

The other hazards include broken bones due to falls, avalanche, ice fall or rock fall.