Mera Peak Packing: The Hits!

Every time I travel -- heck, every time I go on a picnic -- I end up finding something I'd do differently the next time around. Our Nepal trek was no different. After 18 days on the trail, we learned a thing or two about what worked and what didn't. So let's begin with the success stories...

Mammut Aconcagua Fleece

Mammut Aconcagua fleece hoodie

We spent the majority of our our trek above 4, 000m. So when you stop moving, when you start going downhill, or when the sun goes behind a cloud, you get cold very quickly. I feel like we were constantly taking layers on/off. The Mammut Aconcagua fleece hoodie I bought just before this trip really shone in these variable conditions.

This is the single most useful and versatile item I packed. I wore it every single day! Appearances can be deceiving; it may look like a pretty basic hoodie, but it has some key design features that make it so perfect.

1. Snug Hood
   
   
   Ninja Hoodie
   I have never had a more snug or comfortable hood. My trek-mates dubbed this the "ninja hoodie", and rightly so. It fits like a balaclava, but it's a lot more versatile, as you can take it on/off quickly, and you can easily layer hats/headbands under it for extra warmth. But what I appreciated the most is the fact that the hood moves with me so beautifully. Other hoods I have just stay in place when you turn your head, and you end up looking at the inside of the hood instead of at the scenery on the left/right. Even my much loved Arcteryx waterproof and Nick's fancy new down jacket suffer from this problem. But not so with this jacket!
   
   
2. Comfortable Thumb-loops
   
   
   Mammut wins the thumb (loop) war
   The fabric around the loop is thin and soft, so it doesn't cut into your hands. One of the things that I hate about my otherwise stellar Icebreaker 320 merino wool sweater is that the fabric on the thumb loop is thicker and rougher than the rest of the sweater, so it really chafes.
   
   
3. Sizing is ideal for layering.
   
   I was able to fit two or three layers under this fleece without looking (or feeling) like the Michelin Man. I was also able to layer a down sweater on top of the fleece comfortably. The back of the fleece is also a little longer than the front, so it covers my butt nicely when I sit on a cold rock and take a breather.
   

I have never owned a more perfect fleece. I hope this piece lasts me a good long time!

Prana Monarch Convertible Pants

Day 16 and still presentable!

My love for the Monarch is already well-documented, but after wearing these pants for 17 days straight, I am convinced that they are magical -- à la sisterhood of the traveling pants!

They looked and felt great no matter how many layers I had on. I was amazed that the pants accommodated my thick, expedition-weight base layers so comfortably. I brought a looser pair of hiking pants specifically for higher altitudes when I'd be wearing more layers, but the Monarch's worked so well that I never used them!

I also found that they shed mud and dust really well. I wasn't exactly careful about where I sat when we took breaks, and since I was peeing no less than 10 times a day (sigh), I had to go off trail quite a bit. Yet even with all that, these pants managed to look pretty presentable by the end of the trek.

I have looked worse for the wear after day hikes in other hiking pants. If that isn't magical, I don't know what is!

Micro Spikes

Going down the Zatra La with micro spikes

Going over the Zatra La Pass, we encountered some very slippery sections with a lot of rock, snow and ice. Mixed terrain like this can be tricky because walking over sloping rocks with crampons and double plastic boots is not fun (especially for crampon newbies like us). But it would have been just as tricky to cross with only our hiking boots.

Fortunately, there's a handy little invention to fill the gap: micro-spikes (the competing brand, equally good, is called yaktrax).

Micro spikes are basically snow chains for your hiking shoes. They're rubber with metal spikes on the bottom that you slip over your hiking boots. They take seconds to put on, and seconds to take off, so it's super easy to just pop them on when you need them. They aren't as effective on hard ice as they are on snow and slightly softer ice, but it certainly beats not having them at all!

Their weight to usefulness ratio is excellent, and I really think they are must-haves for the Mera Peak trek. We wore our crampons for the icy sections above Khare, but in retrospect, our micro-spikes were probably better suited.