alpine climbing gear Gear for Ice & Alpine Climbing

Ice & Alpine climbing are gear-reliant pursuits, and the right alpine climbing gear makes all the difference

By its nature mountaineering is cold, rigorous & and you need to carry everything yourself. This means alpine climbing gear needs to be of a certain type, in the case of hardware it must be certified for the sport, in the case of clothing & boots it needs to be up to the job.

Questions about gear?

alpine climbing gear alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

32 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Alpine climbing Boots

Alpine boots look like the ones in the photo. Our trips in Japan can be very cold so we recommend full 4 season boots, and anything overnight means double boots are much nicer.

We don’t usually supply boots, but can source from sister companies at additional cost.

21 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Clothes & Gloves

The climbers in the photo demonstrate what alpine clothing is like; outer shell layers, gloves, warm head wear, and insulated midlayers & a baselayer underneath.

Gloves should be several, including thin ones for walking, insulated ones for climbing & mitts for waiting around.

1 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Insulation

You will get cold, so you will need a puffy insulated jacket. Down is the warmest for weight, but synthetic these days is catching up if good quality. Two light jackets are warmer than one huge one.

On overnight trips down booties ensure better sleep, and puffy pants are well worth the cost.

3 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Packs

The best climbing packs are simple, light and large. Even for 1 Day trips something around 50L is best, for all the warm gear, hardware, food & your share of team gear. Longer trips warrant bigger packs as the tents and sleeping gear all add up, and around 80L means not having to shoehorn stuff in.

33 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Sleeping Gear

You won’t need a huge -40c sleeping bag, something rated to about -10c will be easily enough. If your bag is lacking, a second, thin and & cheap one combined is more versatile than buying a whole new one. And more than anything, a good insulating mat beneath you has more bang for your buck than any sleeping bag.

34 alpine climbing ice climb Japan mt fuji winter asama yama

Hardware

Alpine climbing has the coolest gear in the world, such as crampons, ice tools, ice screws & cams. We can supply essential hardware but your own gear is always the best, but needs to be alpine-grade to handle the rigors of winter use.