The ultimate multi-day mountaineering packing list

Backpacking pack (50-75L)

Your mountaineering pack needs to be large enough to carry 20-25kg+ of technical gear, a full camp system, food, layers, and safety equipment— yet streamlined and supportive enough for long summit pushes and high-stakes glacier travel.

Most people like 65-75L for multi-day mountaineering trips, but I personally prefer to use my 50L backpacking pack (any larger than this and I find it’s too unwieldy for me to climb with).

Best overall: Osprey Aura AG 50 (Women’s) / Atmos AG 50 (Men’s)

Best for upgraded storage space: Osprey Aura AG 65 (Women’s) / Atmos AG 65 (Men’s)

Raincover

Protects your gear from sudden downpours— some packs come with one built-in, but if not, make sure to pack a lightweight rain cover that fits over your bag (REI’s size large is best to cover a full pack with additional climbing gear on the outside)

Best overall: REI Co-op Duck’s Back Pack Rain Cover

Summit pack

If your mountaineering route includes side-trips or optional summits, a lightweight summit pack is a great addition to avoid carrying your full pack everywhere. This should roll up and stow easily inside your larger pack! Around camp, it also doubles as a super-convenient way to transport water and dinner fix-ins from the tent to wherever you’ll be eating.

Best overall: REI Co-op Flash 18

Mountaineering boots

For nearly all general mountaineering trips, I recommend lightweight mountaineering boots that offer an ideal balance between comfort on a long approach and support/structure on challenging terrain— snow, glacier travel, mixed rock, crampon-compatible.

If you’re climbing above 4,000m, you’ll need to start considering more heavyweight alternatives (I wore plastic boots on Mt Rainier) and once you start approaching 6,000m, you’ll be looking at alpine double boots (I wore La Sportiva G-Summit Mountaineering Boots on Aconcagua), but for mid-range trips, these are both excellent options:

Best lightweight mountaineering boots: La Sportiva Trango Tech Leather GTX Boots (women’s) / (men’s)

Best heavy mountaineering boots: Scarpa Charmoz HD (women’s) / (men’s)

Expedition socks

Thicker wool socks are essential for multi-day warmth and protection in the alpine, so we upgrade our hiking socks to expedition socks for most mountaineering trips. I like to pack a new pair for every ~3 days, plus a clean pair for sleep (for 2-4 day trips, I bring 2 pairs of hiking socks; for 5-11 day trips, I bring 3 pairs).

Best overall: REI Co-op Merino Wool Expedition Hiking Crew Socks

Liner socks

Thin liner socks help prevent hot-spots and blisters resulting from friction, and this can be especially crucial on alpine terrain where your feet are wet/hot for hours at a time. I discovered these toe-sock liners about 8 years ago and I’ve been evangelising ever since— if you struggle with blisters, this should be your first line of defence!

Best overall: Injinji Liner Crew

Trekking poles

Poles are essential for glacier crossings, steep approaches, and recovery on long descents— we bring them on every alpine trip.

Best overall: Black Diamond Trail Trekking Poles

Helmet

A climbing helmet is non-negotiable in the alpine— it protects you from rockfall, falling ice, or an unexpected knock on mixed terrain (I fell while crossing a boulder field in crampons last year and my helmet literally saved me from being air-lifted out of the Wind Rivers). Look for a climbing-specific helmet that’s light enough to wear all day, extra points for bright colours that are easy to spot from a distance.

Best overall: Black Diamond Half Dome Helmet (women’s) / (men’s)

Ice axe

We carry a classic straight-shaft ice axe on snow or glaciated routes— it’s essential for balance on icy traverses, security on steep slopes, and self-arrest if you slip.

When choosing your axe, height matters: too long and it gets in the way, too short and it’s awkward to use on mellow terrain. A good rule of thumb is to pick a length where the spike just grazes your ankle bone when you’re holding it relaxed at your side (for most climbers, 65cm is pretty standard).

Best overall: Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe

Harness

Save weight and space in your pack with a dedicated, ultra-lightweight alpine harness— these strip away most crag harness comforts (it’s not pleasant to hang in these for more than a few minutes), but retain essential safety features for roped glacier travel, belaying, and rappelling.

For most mountaineering trips, we bring a climbing harness + basic glacier kit: ATC, a few locking carabiners, prusik cords, and an auto-block.

Best overall: Black Diamond Couloir Harness

Glacier rope

For glacier travel with 2–3 people, we typically use a 40m dry-treated rope. It gives you enough spacing between climbers (especially in a 3-person team) and extra length for building a rescue system. Generally, a lightweight, dry-coated rope in the 8.5–9mm range offers a good balance between weight and strength.

Best overall: Black Diamond 8.9mm Dry Rope (40m)

Crampons

Crampons are essential for any mountaineering route involving snow, ice, or steep frozen slopes, and thankfully choosing just one pair for your gear closet suddenly got a lot easier. 

Steel crampons used to be considerably heavier than their (less rugged) aluminium counterparts and it was a constant dance between weight, cost, and terrain demands… but we now use lightweight 10-point steel crampons for durability and grip on every single trip. Our top pick also has the advantage of strap-on bindings, which maximise compatibility with just about every single boot (including lightweight mountaineering boots).

Critically, make sure your crampons include anti-balling plates (ABS) to prevent snow from clumping underneath— this can cause MAJOR traction issues on descent!

Best overall: Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons with ABS Plates

Gaiters

Gaiters help keep snow, slush, and scree out of your boots— especially during approach and descent. This means warmer, drier feet on the climb!

Best overall: Outdoor Research Expedition Crocodile Gaiters

Pro, assorted technical gear (as needed)

This is so highly specific to the trip you’re doing that I wouldn’t dream of writing a standard packing list for mountaineering pro, just keep this as a reminder to consider what protective gear is required for your adventure!

PLB/SOS

A Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is your lifeline in the outdoors and we NEVER go climbing without our Garmin InReach Mini 2, which allows us to send messages, get weather updates, track location, and place an SOS call in an emergency, even without phone service. It does require a subscription (starting at $12/month), but it’s worth every cent and has literally saved both of my parents’ lives in the backcountry!

Best overall: Garmin InReach Mini 2

GPS

Gone are the days where you have to purchase an expensive, clunky GPS device to access maps in the backcountry— the absolute best GPS resource is the smartphone you already own, paired with a reliable, low-cost GPS mapping app that allows you to access detailed offline Topo maps and navigate via GPS satellites, even without mobile service

Our go-to is CalTopo, which costs just $20/year and is by far the most feature-rich, affordable, and accurate mapping tool out there.

As a supplement, we also use James’ Garmin Fenix 7X Pro, which is great for on-trail wrist navigation and turn-by-turn cues. But I still wouldn’t rely on it as our only GPS source.

Best GPS app: CalTopo (mobile app)

Best GPS watch: Garmin Fenix 7X Pro

First Aid Kit

Pre-assembled kits from Adventure Medical are a great place to start building your mountaineering med kit, but as you get more alpine time under your belt, you’ll want to customise it based on your needs and preferences.

We always include:
• a mix of NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen)
• antihistamines (Claritin for allergies, Benadryl for bites/stings)
• a small selection of stomach meds (like Imodium or Pepto tabs)
• a roll of KT tape (insanely versatile for everything from blisters to rolled ankles)
• alcohol wipes, antiseptic, a few large gauze pads, and blister plasters like Compeed

Best pre-packaged First Aid Kit: Adventure Medical Kits Backpacker

Headlamp

Essential for alpine starts, late arrivals to camp, or wandering around the tent at night. Choose a rechargeable headlamp that’s bright enough for route-finding and compact enough to live in your top pocket.

Best overall: Black Diamond Spot 400-R

Powerbank

For recharging our phones, GPS, camera, and headlamp over the course of the trip, we carry a 10,000mAh charger with built-in cables; if the trip is longer than 4 days, we’ll carry 2 of these (20,000Ah) EACH or bring a solar charger (below).

Best overall: VRURC Portable Charger with Built-in Cables, 10000mAh

Solar charger

On backcountry trips longer than 4 days (where battery loss of your GPS, phone, In-Reach, or headlamp could pose a serious safety risk), we also bring a compact solar charger to top off our powerbanks. This is lighter than bringing an entire stack of powerbanks and gives us excellent peace of mind in the alpine!

Best overall: BigBlue 28W Solar Charger

Mountaineering tent

For most alpine routes, we use a robust 3-season tent (if the weather is expected to be decent) or light single-wall, 4-season tent with a small footprint and solid vestibule space. Storm resistance is of vital importance when you’re above treeline, so don’t expect to get away with an ultralight tent in any but the most ideal of summer conditions (1-2kg per person is reasonable).

Best for moderate conditions: Nemo Dragonfly OSMO 3P

Best all-rounder mountaineering tent: Black Diamond Eldorado (4-season)

Sleeping bag

For mountaineering, we absolutely recommend a down-fill bag— it’s significantly warmer for the weight and compresses much smaller in your pack. When comparing bags, make sure you’re looking at the comfort rating (not the limit), and choose something rated just below the coldest temps you expect on your trip.

If you sleep cold, it is absolutely worth carrying an extra few hundred grams to sleep soundly every night instead of shivering and getting poor rest!

Best for cold-sleepers: Feathered Friends Murre ES 0 (women’s) / Snowbunting EX 0 (men’s)

Best lighter/cheaper alternative: Sea to Summit Spark 0

Sleeping pad

This is the other half of your warmth and comfort equation. For general mountaineering, we use the same inflatable insulated pads that we use for backpacking (R-value above 4); for snow camps or extreme cold, we’ll add a closed-cell foam pad underneath to block ground chill.

Best ultralight pad: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT Sleeping Pad

Best upgraded pad for poor sleepers: Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated Sleeping Pad

Camp pillow

A camp pillow is a small, lightweight addition to your sleep system that is guaranteed to improve your sleep compared to stuffing clothes in a pillow. Even though we talk about mountaineering being “no frills”, this is 75g you’ll be happy to have!

Best overall: Sea to Summit Aeros Premium

Camp shoes

After wearing stiff boots all day, you’ll want something comfortable to change into at camp. In summer, we use lightweight sandals; in cold weather or snow, down booties are an awesome way to keep your feet extra warm.

Best for moderate weather: Teva Original

Best for extreme cold: Mountain Hardwear Down Bootie

Camp stove (+ fuel)

We use a compact integrated canister stove system for nearly every mountaineering trip— it’s ultralight, fuel-efficient, and boils water crazy fast. This setup only works with boil-in-bag meals or hot drinks (i.e., you can’t cook pasta inside the pot), but that’s perfect for mountaineering: it’s lighter, cleaner, and easier than cooking heavy supermarket food in the alpine. I’ve used this even at 6,000m on Aconcagua and always had brilliant results!

Best overall: Jetboil Zip

Mess kit

For most mountaineering trips (where weight is at an absolute premium), I’d recommend carrying only a cup and spoon— it’s easy enough to eat directly out of the pouch at dinner.

Best cup: Frontier Ultralight Collapsible Cup

Best long-handled spoon: Toaks Titanium Long Handle Spoon

Water filter

Even in snowfields or glacier basins, we carry a compact water filter for refills at streams or meltwater. If there’s a chance of freezing temps overnight, make sure to keep the filter core in your sleeping bag to prevent damage.

Best overall: Katadyn BeFree 1.oL Water Filter

Water reservoir

On top of your filter and your water bottle or bladder, backcountry trips call for a water reservoir— a lightweight, collapsible container used to haul dirty water from a stream or lake back to camp. Use it to fill pots for dinner or filter into bottles without crouching over a creek for 10 minutes!

Best overall: HydraPak Seeker 2L

Water bottle or bladder

I don’t use bladders on overnight trips since they can be especially challenging to fill when you’re filtering water (and the consequences of leakage can be catastrophic if it soaks your sleeping bag), so instead I personally prefer 1-2 Nalgene bottles. As you like it!

Best water bottle: Nalgene Wide Mouth

Best water bladder: Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir 2L

Freeze-dried meals + snacks

Boil-only meals are the name of the game in the alpine! We typically try to share a two-serving pouch and add a “starter” like ramen, cheese dip, or soup to add calories.

Favourite brands: Peak Refuel; Packit Gourmet; Backpacker’s Pantry; Real Turmat (European brand)

As soon as we’re talking about a multi-day alpine trip, snack packing becomes infinitely more challenging— with weight and space at a premium, you can’t just overpack food with reckless abandon like I’d recommend for a dayhike, but you also can’t risk under-packing and not having enough fuel for a challenging climb.

👉🏼 Check out this post for a breakdown on how we pack backcountry food for multi-day mountaineering trips

Electrolytes

Altitude, sun exposure, and sweat can lead to dehydration fast. We add electrolytes to EVERY bottle of water that we’re drinking in the alpine, especially on summit day or in hot conditions. It’s an easy way to avoid cramps and bonks!

Best overall: Liquid IV

Long-sleeve layer

This is your first layer of real warmth and protection if conditions start to shift— in the alpine, I’d definitely recommend a baselayer AND a heavy fleece to layer.

Best base layer: Smartwool Classic Thermal Merino Crew Base Layer Top (women’s) / (men’s)

Best for fleece layer: Arc’teryx Kyanite Zip Neck Base Layer Top (women’s) / Rho Heavyweight Zip Neck (men’s)

Synthetic insulation layer

This is our go-to climbing layer: warm even when wet, breathable enough to move in, and perfect under a shell. At camp, this also forms part of my cozy nighttime layering system under my down jacket.

Best overall: Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoody (women’s) / (men’s)

Down layer

While I almost never hike in my down jacket, alpine conditions sometimes call for climbing in one (but only when dry!) or pulling it out on the windy summit block.

Down jackets are also essential for warmth at camp— once the sun sets, temps drop fast, and having a warm puffy to throw on while you eat dinner, filter water, or crawl into your sleeping bag makes all the difference. Down is lighter and warmer than synthetic for this use, so it’s well worth the space in your pack.

Best overall: Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody (women’s) / (men’s)

Best for extreme cold: Arc’teryx Thorium Hoody (women’s) / (men’s)

GoreTex rain shell layer

An alpine essential, non-negotiable on any mountaineering trip— even if there’s no rain in the forecast, this can be a life-saving layer against intense wind on the summit. Your shell needs to be waterproof, windproof, and cut to layer over both your fleece and puffy (size up!). Pit zips, an adjustable hood, and a longer cut for harness compatibility are all bonuses.

Best overall: Arc’teryx Beta SL (women’s) / (men’s)

Shell pants

Soft shell pants protect from snow, wind, and icy rock— not as well as hard shell pants, sure, but I find these much more versatile for daily use in moderate conditions and I’ll only add hard shell pants on specific, high-elevation trips.

Best overall: Arc’teryx Gamma Pants (women’s) / (men’s)

Sun gloves

These super-lightweight gloves are a total game-changer for snowfields, glacier travel, and high UV days— they protect your hands from rough snow and ice without adding warmth AND make it easier to hold an ice axe while you’re sweating.

Best overall: Outdoor Research ActiveIce Chroma Full Sun Gloves

Lightweight hiking gloves

I still recommend lightweight hiking gloves on an alpine trip, either for cool climbing conditions that demand more than a sun glove (above) but don’t quite warrant your full mountaineering glove (below) or for staying warm at camp in the evenings.

Best overall: Outdoor Research Trail Mix Gloves (women’s) / (men’s)

Leather mountaineering gloves

Alpine gloves should be warm enough for summit pushes, but still dexterous enough for rope handling, belaying, or ice axe work. These aren’t designed for extreme elevation or full-on winter expeditions, but they’re perfect for the majority of 3-season alpine routes. Layer over lighter gloves for a little extra warmth with only a minor loss of dexterity.

Best for milder conditions: Outdoor Research Stormtracker Gloves (women’s) / (men’s)

Best for snowy conditions: Outdoor Research Extravert Gloves (women’s) / (men’s)

Buff

This super compact, multi-functional neck tube is an outdoor staple on every trip— use it as a scarf, headband, balaclava, to block sun and wind, to wipe sweat off your face… the list is endless and we never go mountaineering without at least one! In extremely cold conditions, swap or add the polar version with brushed fleece.

Best overall: Buff Original

Best for extreme cold: Buff Polar

Beanie

You’ll wear this at camp, on pre-dawn starts, and under your helmet on windy summits. Choose something thin enough to layer but warm enough to count.

Best overall: Arc’teryx Mallow Toque

Toiletries

Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant, medications, contact solution, wilderness wipes… whatever you need to stay clean and comfortable for multiple days in the backcountry! But, crucially, think LIGHT!!

Bathroom bits

Grab a small pouch or ZipLock and pack toilet paper, hand sanitiser, and a spare bag to pack out used items if needed. Don’t underestimate how much TP you’ll need, this is one of the most painful backcountry mistakes you can make!

Kula Cloth (for women)

This reusable antimicrobial pee cloth is designed specifically for backcountry female hygiene— it’s absorbent on one side, waterproof on the other, and treated with silver ions to resist bacteria growth and odour.

It’s easy to wash, dries fast, snaps shut for discretion, and clips onto the outside of your pack so it’s always accessible. Not only is it way more hygienic than carrying used toilet paper in a ziplock, but it also seriously reduces your trail waste, making it a no-brainer for sustainable climbing and women’s health on the go.

Best overall: Kula Cloth

Sun safety

Sun safety becomes even more vital in the alpine, especially when you’re spending hours traversing across a glacier at elevation— that sun reflection will fry your neck, ears, and the bottom of your nose like you wouldn’t believe.

Lather up in SPF 50+ sunscreen (or wear a sun shirt all day) and opt for SPF lip balm with zinc. Look for “lifeguard” or “surfer” formulas, they’re way more durable in wind and snow.

Glacier glasses are also a must. Regular sunnies don’t cut it in high-alpine terrain—snow blindness is real, and it can develop in under an hour on bright glacier days. Glacier glasses have dark lenses, full UV protection, and side shields to block peripheral glare.

Best glacier glasses: Julbo Vermont

Best sun hat: Arc’teryx Gamma 5-Panel Cap

Camera (optional!)

Not technically essential, but always worth it for the summit shots, sunrise tent views, and those wild ridge scrambles. We prefer to bring our compact camera rather than our big setup when weight is at a premium!

Best compact: Fujifilm x100vi