What Gear Does An Astronaut Bring to Climb Mt. Everest?
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In May 2008 a team of climbers will attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Among the team members will be an astronaut – who could become the first human to summit Everest and fly in space. Check in here for updates on the climb, the team, and the parallels between terrestrial and space exploration.
The summit team is composed of Scott Parazynski (astronaut), Ang Namgya, Adam Janikowski, and Ang Chhiring.
Below is the gear list Scott Parazynski prepared for his trip to Mt. Everest:
| ITEM | Weight (gm) | Comments |
| CLOTHING | ||
| Boxers (4) | 345 | REI and Patagonia; Polypro (76g ea.) |
| Long Underwear Tops (2) | 703 | Patagonia Capiline Base, lightweight; in blue stuff sack |
| Long Underwear Bottoms (2) | Patagonia Capiline Base, lightweight; stowed with tops in blue stuff sack |
|
| 2nd Layer, Top | 293 | Patagonia 100 weight powerstretch, lightweight fleece |
| 2nd Layer, Bottom | 486 | REI Thermo LT Pants, Polartech Wind Pro fleece |
| Soft Shell Pants | 533 | Arcteryx Polartech Pants |
| 3rd Layer, Top | 700 | Mountain H/W Fleece Jacket |
| 3rd Layer, Top (Modified for HAHS) | 650 | Mountain H/W Windstopper Tech Jacket w/zips for HAHS |
| Insulated Pants | 1107 | Mountain Hardware 8000m Pants (w/black stuff sack) |
| Insulated Jacket/Parka | 1367 | TNF Baltoro Gore Dryloft Jacket w/green stuff sack |
| Down Suit | 2100 | Mountain Hardware (w/US flag, add’l patches); in green compression sack |
| Shell Jacket | 816 | TNF Summit Series Jacket (Goretex XCR) |
| Shell Pants | 911 | TNF Summit Series Pants (Goretex XCR) |
| Glove Liners (light) | 41 | Mountain H/W Power Stretch Glove |
| Glove Liners (heavy) | 97 | TNF Denali Glove (300-weight fleece); extra OR as b/u |
| Modular Gloves | 272 | Mountain H/W w/removable. Liners |
| Summit Day Mittens | 387 | Outdoor Research, Expedition Weight w/removable. liners |
| Backup Summit Day Mittens | 408 | Outdoor Research, Expedition Weight w/removable. Liners (Goretex shell) |
| Warm hats (2) | 194 | Turtle Andean Hat, Polypro helmet liner |
| Balaclavas (3) | 176 | Outdoor Research Windstopper medium weight, Psolar fleece, Patagonia |
| Sun hat, Ball Caps | 209 | OR Baseball cap w/extra sun protection; STS-120 x 2 (1 for Kami) |
| Neck Protection | 104 | Buffs (1 fleece, 1 lightweight for trekking) |
| Bandanas (3) | 94 | White, Blue, TX |
| Convertible Trekking Pants/Shorts | 541 | TNF Nylon |
| Change of Casual Clothes (Travel, KTM) | 500 | Including personal small personal hygiene kit |
| FOOTWEAR | ||
| Mountaineering Socks (4 pairs) | 557 | Smartwool Mountaineering, Extra Heavy Cushion (132g ea.); red stuff sack |
| Sock Liners (4 pairs) | 224 | REI Dry One Polypro Liner Socks (44g ea.) |
| Foot powder | 148 | Small container (Gold Bond) plus Ziploc bag containment |
| Plastic Double Climbing Boots | 3340 | Everest One Sports, size 13.5 US (baseline shoes 11.5-12); 1670 gm/boot |
| Trekking Gaiters | 192 | REI “Trail Low” mild weather gaiter |
| Cross Training Shoes (camp use) | 1165 | Merrell Mesa Ventillator |
| Camp Booties | 344 | Forty Below |
| Trekking boots | 1930 | Asolo TPS 520 |
| CLIMBING | ||
| Trekking/ski poles | 612 | Leki Makalu (3 section) |
| Ice axe, 70 cm and wrist loop, labeled | 660 | 70 cm Omega Pacific Mountain Lite; Neoprene insulation; guards |
| Crampons, semi-rigid step-in | 1434 | BD Sabertooth w/antiballing plates, wrench/spare screw; case |
| Climbing harness | 380 | Misty Mountain Harness w/adjustable leg loops |
| Helmet | 509 | Petzl Ecrin: modified for helmetcam |
| Belay device | 91 | Black Diamond Figure 8 |
| Lg. Pear-shaped locking biners (2), labeled | 174 | Kong HMS screwgate locking biners (87g ea.) |
| Regular biners (5), labeled | 318 | Omega ovals (64g ea.) |
| Ascenders (2), labeled | 396 | Petzl (198g ea.) |
| Prusiks, extra cord | 419 | Prusiks, plus 30′ 6mm cord |
| Shoulder-length slings (2); extra webbing | 240 | 10′ extra webbing |
| Climbing knife | 108 | With French hook |
| CAMPING | ||
| Expedition Backpack | 2250 | Kelty White Cloud Pack, 6500 cubic inches (rain cover inside) |
| Backpack Rain Cover | For the Kelty White Cloud | |
| Day Pack | 1400 | Gregory Z35 Pack (Yellow, Large) |
| Sleeping Bag #1 | 2500 | Marmot Cwm (-40 deg bag) w/blue compression stuff sack |
| Sleeping Bag #2 | 2250 | Dave Rodney’s Feathered Friends -50 degree bag w/dark blue stuff sack |
| Sleeping Pad, Inflatable | 1085 | Thermarest Pro Lite 4 (1.5″ thick) w/stuff sack; neck pillow in sack |
| Sleeping Pad, Foam | 449 | Thermarest Z-Lite (0.75″ thick) |
| Neck Pillow | Thermarest “Trek & Travel” U-shaped inflatable pillow (for EBC) |
|
| Thermal Mug | 193 | Nalgene 18oz. mug with lid; spork inside |
| Spork | Lexan spork with French hook (inside mug) | |
| Tupperware Bowl | 127 | Tupperware bowl w/lid, 1.3 liter volume; cordolette lanyard for top |
| 2 liter Hydration System | 261 | Camelback reservoir; Platypus hose insulation |
| Water Bottles (3), w/Parkas | 890 | 1 liter ea. (~290g ea.) ; 2 Camelback (blue, HAHS), 1 Nalgene |
| HAHS Accessory Kit | 496 | Insulation, data loggers, drink tubes |
| Stainless Thermos, 0.5 liter capacity | 306 | REI 0.5 liter thermos, blue |
| Pee Bottle | 154 | Well-labeled/taped 1.5 liter Nalgene big mouth bottle |
| MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS | ||
| Duffel Bag #1 (Red) | 2200 | Dave’s North Face XXL duffel; relabeled |
| Duffel Bag #2 (Yellow) | 2200 | Dave’s North Face XXL duffel; relabeled |
| Large Plastic Trash Bags (6) | 307 | Liners for duffel bags and packs |
| TSA approved locks for bags (3) | Enables TSA to access, as req’d | |
| Glacier glasses w/noseguard | 138 | Julbo, w/side shades and croakie; Beko noseguard, case |
| Backup glacier glasses w/noseguard | 48 | Julbo, w/side shades and croakie; Beko noseguard |
| Dark Ski Goggles | 110 | Julbo Cat 4 UV protection |
| Medium Tint Goggles | 130 | Bolle, orange tint |
| Reading Glasses | 67 | With protective case |
| Head lamp with spare bulbs (2) | 342 | Petzl Myo XP (prime; 3 AA’s); Black Diamond Lightware (b/u; 3 AAA’s) |
| Pelican Case | 2500 | Camera, Camcorder, Lenses, GPS, Helmetcam, Proprietary Li Batteries |
| Digital Camera | Canon PowerShot G9 compact digital camera, 12.1 MP, wide angle lens |
|
| Compact, Solid State Video Camera | Sony HDR CX7 camcorder with spare Li batteries | |
| Helmet Camera | Omega Scientific ATK 2K with thermal blanket & helmet mounts |
|
| GPS Unit | Garmin Etrek | |
| Extra Lithium batteries | 595 | 8 AA for camera & GPS; 7 AAA for MP3 & Pulse Ox (copy of TSA reg) |
| Extra proprietary batteries (camera, CC) | 830 | 5 for Sony HDR CC, 3 for Canon G9 digital camera |
| Extra memory for cameras and CC | 113 | Labeled SD and Sony memory sticks |
| Extra Helmet Camera for Adam | 306 | From Keith Cowing |
| Extra Memory Stick and SD for Adam | 64 | |
| Physiowave Wavelet | 302 | With red dots and 3 labeled SD cards |
| Photo/TV tech manuals | 353 | Small booklets on each device |
| Hygiene Kit (2 ziplocks) | 2250 | Toothbrush/paste, comb, shampoo, razor, shaving cream, deodorant |
| Wet Ones Wipes (16 singles) | Baby wipes | |
| Toilet Paper | For High Camps (4 rolls) | |
| Purell Hand Sanitizer | 5 small containers | |
| Sunscreen | SPF 40 | |
| Lip protection (2 containers) | SPF 30 | |
| Hand/foot warmers (4 sets of each) | 332 | Chemical, disposable warmers (Grabber Mycoal) in OR gray stuff sack |
| Sleep kit | 126 | Quies Pure Wax ear plugs (7 pair), eye shades, deck of cards |
| MP3 player | 48 | Zen Creative, uses one Li ion AAA battery |
| Ecotrin/Diamox 7 day pill tray | 34 | One Ecotrin, two Diamox per day |
| Books, Sudoku | ||
| Pack Towel | 193 | MSR Personal Towel (25″ x 54″) |
| Camp Chair | 600 | Crazy Creek |
| Miscellaneous Repair Items | 324 | Cordolette, duct tape, 4 small bungees, Velcro strips |
| Thermarest Repair kit | Thermarest patches (in Ziploc labeled “repair kit”) | |
| Sewing Kit | Eagle Creek (in Ziploc labeled “repair kit”) | |
| Multitool | Micro Leatherman Tool with Pliers (in Ziploc labeled “repair kit”) |
|
| Performance Drink Mixes (2 large tubs) | 2260 | Cytomax (Cool Citrus) and another of Accelerade (Lemonade w/caffeine) |
| Performance Snacks | 567 | MOJO bars (4); Q-chews (3 bags) |
| Favorite snack foods | 1573 | Swiss chocolate bars, GU (30) for up high |
| Journals (3) with mechanical pencils (3) | 340 | REI journals; extra lead (1.3mm) & erasers, sealed in Ziploc bag |
| Altimeter Watch | Suunto Vector | |
| Summit Bling | 235 | STS-86 US flag, NASA tributes (Crews, Henize), Purple Songs Can Fly flag, HMNS banner, Challenger Center, Autism band, Yuri’s Night patch & family photos (in summit Ziploc) |
| DOCUMENTATION | ||
| Passport, photos (3) | Copies of Passport in alternate locations | |
| Travel Wallet on Lanyard | REI | |
| Passport | In travel wallet | |
| Immunization documentation | FMC; in travel wallet | |
| Packing List (4 copies) | Copies in each bag and in travel wallet | |
| Traveller’s Checks | For Sherpa fee, tips, miscellaneous expenses; in travel wallet | |
| MEDICAL KIT | ||
| Cough drops x 20 | 539 | Contingency Medical Kit in OR gray mesh bag |
| Diamox 250mg #60 | Included above | |
| Decadron 4mg q6 prn HACE #20 | Included above | |
| Nifedipine 10mg prn HAPE #20 | Included above | |
| Levaquin prn GI #10 | Included above | |
| Tylenol III #12 | Included above | |
| Lomotil #12 | Included above | |
| Zithromax pack (2) prn URI | Included above | |
| Tobradex ophthalmic drops | Included above | |
| Moleskin & 2nd skin | Included above | |
| Athletic tape & bandages | Included above | |
| Neosporin, small tube | Included above | |
| Ecotrin 81mg po qd #120 | Included above | |
| Pulse oximeter | Nonin Onyx |
