Tour du Mont Blanc 2016 - Mainly a kit review

As alluded to in previous posts, the Alps has an almost hypnotic effect on me.
I have spent enough time there, though little in the past 20 years or so, to begin to understand the rhythm of the seasons, the type of weather to be expected, the beauty of the natural environment and the unique human environment. I am fluent in one of the alpine languages. This helps.

But it was not until this trip of 9 days that I actually seriously got to grips with the Alps "physically. Ski-ing, which I did a great deal of until around the mid '90's, doesn't really count. Critically most forms of ski-ing mean you are mechanically transported up the mountains by one means or another, before sliding down on a pre-prepared, modified part of the landscape. Walking and running in the alps is entirely different - every metre of altitude gained is by muscle and sweat. Every view is "earned", not simply paid for in a lift pass. The paths sneak about, around and across landscape features, whilst fully respecting them. Rocks, tree roots and loose materials are not cleared for you. Critically what you are carrying in terms of personal weight and pack size matters - you look at others labouring under vast towering packs and feel smug, whilst others who made even more lightweight choices than yourself become objects of envy.

I was proud of my Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20 and my honed down contents (see last post), and was very sceptical of my daughter Lisa's decision to go about 30% less in volume and possibly 3kgs lighter. When early in the trip, she pulled a sun dress out of the pack to change into on a warm evening, I realised that I had, not for the first time, been upstaged by my wiser offspring.

So that would be the first of many recommendations to anyone coming across this blog and planning a similar trip. Take less. Take no duplicates. If you look at it twice, and wonder, don't take it! Buy the lightest, most effective kit in every category.

Reviewing what I took critically now, and to get the 'kit' issue out of the way, I would leave behind a fair bit and change some for lighter options.

Clothes:

Base layers / t shirts: 1 long sleeve (that is genuinely "tec", warm and light); 2 very light short sleeve that wash easily and dry quickly. Travel in 1 of course.

Underwear: 2 as per t shirts above. You are wearing 1 to travel.

Socks: my Merino blend trekking socks were excellent but took an age to dry. 1 other short pair, quick drying - wear these to travel.

Warmth: My thermal long johns were unused: ditch. Merino top layer: ditch. At all times when cold, put on micro down jacket. If legs are cold, don waterproofs. Keep warm running gloves and hat. My observation would be that your legs won't get cold in shorts unless they get wet!

Shorts / trousers: My Karrimor zip outs and 2 pairs of running shorts, one cycle type and one lightweight could be replaced by 2 pairs of lightweight hybrid trail running shorts.

Waterproofs: absolutely the single most important kit items. My jacket was perhaps 150g "too heavy" and I bought new lightweight breathable waterproofs in Decathlon. I never got wet even in torrential rain. Every other item of kit fails if it gets wet under inadequate waterproofs. I will replace my 'heavy' breathable rain jacket with a well-reviewed lightweight (250g max) with storm hood for the next expedition. Hopefully these will be carried most of the time in outside pockets on pack, so they need to be low volume also. The jacket needs to be big enough to cover 3 other layers if necessary.

Refuge / sleep / evening wear: ditch everything and make do with items from above. There is no 'dress code'.

Hat / Cap" I wore my 4.99 euro Decathlon peaked cap nearly all the time. It acted as swetband and sun visor in one

Equipment:

Poles: essential, but with a big but.... We had 14 euro a pair telescopic poles from Decathlon that weighed 420g a pair. They were totally fine and got ditched (to solve hand baggage issue - Easyjet would have charged us 3 x their value to take as hold baggage) at the end. Expensive poles are totally unnecessary IMO. It's weight that's the issue.

Shoes: when we walked in a group of 8, 6 of them were in high, heavy duty walking boots. We had Salomon hybrid running / fast hiking Goretex lined shoes. They were absolutely superb. Gave us a light, agile feeling that made all the scrambling much easier. Even in the large quantities of neve snow that we crossed, they were grippy and adequate.

Gaiters and extra grip for snow: we had Decathlon trail running gaiters and some Yak Trax type grips. These kept snow and grit out and added a bit of extra grip on long stretches of snow. On short patches we didn't bother with the extra grip. Neither of us fell over or slipped.

First aid / wash kit etc: I took too much. A toothbrush and some paste and a small bar of soap, plus a tiny first aid kit (including a Compeed pack)and some Rocktape would have been enough. Footcare is essential though and I used Compeed blister prevention stick every morning. I never got a blister. My lightweight microtowel was great.

Sawyer water filter: used frequently and saved at least 500g from carrying extra water. The stream water up high tastes delicious! Essential.

Dry bags: used for everything from food to clothing, maps etc. Great for compressing clothing. 6 would be a good number. I also had 3 of Decathlon's super-cheap, superlight waist and back pack products. Used frequently to supplement and avoiding having full pack all the time.

Maps and Tech: a had no transparent waterproof map cover. This was a 'miss'. The most used feature on my Suunto Ambit was altimeter - essential IMO. Having all the Kindle versions of the guides and my evening reading on an Ipad mini was also a weight saver. My Iphone 4s was my only camera. I never followed a GPS track, rarely had to consult the map en route (though once on the top of Brevent should have done) and generally knew where we were going. The markings on the TDMB, though variable, particularly in Italy, are generally very good. Learn the route first and it's easier on the ground.

Pack: My Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20 was very comfortable, expandable and worked well when overloaded. Lisa's Raidlight Lady 14 litre Ultra running pack was sensational.

Evolved to run. Born to run. Older, greyer, still running. Follow @Nariokotomeboy